(August 2, 2018) – The York Revolution were done in by the big inning, dropping their third straight to close their series in Sugar Land with a 5-2 loss to the Skeeters on Thursday night in front of 4,971 fans at Constellation Field. The Revs finish just 2-5 on their seven-game visit to Texas and will look to rebound on Friday when they return home to start a six-game homestand.
Sugar Land grabbed an early lead in the bottom of the first on a sac fly to deep left by Courtney Hawkins for his league-leading 70th RBI, but Revs starter Logan Williamson settled in from there, starting a streak on which he retired 15 of 18 batters.
The Revs drew even with a run in the top of the fifth against Skeeters starter Dallas Beeler. Henry Castillo led off with a base hit to left and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Travis Witherspoon. That set the table for Jared Mitchell who ripped an RBI single to right, tying the score at 1-1.
Williamson retired the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth, but ran into trouble as Hawkins kept the inning alive with a single to center and Matt Chavez reached on a slow roller that stayed fair along the third base line for an infield single. Albert Cordero chopped a ground ball single through the left side, sending Hawkins around third attempting to score from second base. Left fielder Welington Dotel unleashed a perfect strike to the plate which beat Hawkins by a wide margin, but the ball was knocked loose from catcher Luis Cruz when Hawkins collided with his glove, giving Sugar Land a 2-1 lead. After a walk to Derek Norris loaded the bases, Denis Phipps cleared the bases on a three-run double down the left field line, as Sugar Land held a sudden 5-1 lead.
The Revs put together a threat in the eighth as Dotel greeted reliever Dan Runzler with a triple down the right field line and scored as Cruz followed with a double down the left field line, making it 5-2. Michael Burgess worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but Runzler escaped by retiring Ryan Dent on a double play grounder to third.
Witherspoon smacked a one-out single to right and Mitchell walked against closer Felipe Paulino in the ninth, once again bringing the tying run to the plate. Alexi Casilla drove a deep fly to left but Hawkins ranged back to make the grab. Paulino retired Melky Mesa on a fly ball to shallow right to end it, securing his league-leading 23rd save.
Alex Wimmers (1-0) picked up the win in relief with a 1-2-3 sixth.
Williamson (4-3) suffered the loss despite tying a season-best by working seven innings for the second time in as many starts. It ended a four-game winning streak for Williamson who absorbed his first loss since June 23.
Notes: Dotel is now tied for the league lead with six triples while the Revs lead the league with 19 triples as a team, four more than the next closest team (Long Island). Dotel has tripled in two of the last three games, and has three triples in the last eight days. His six triples are tied for fifth-most in a season in Revs history. Cruz went 2-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games, the Revs' third-longest of the season and longest since a 15-gamer by Mitchell, May 23-June 9. Cruz tallied his seventh multi-hit game on the 10-game streak, and is now batting .474 (18-for-38) on the streak. The Revs totaled double-digit hits offensively for the fifth consecutive game despite dropping four of those five. York righty Dominic Severino (4-6, 4.96) faces Southern Maryland lefty Drake Britton (4-5, 6.23) at 6:30 p.m. in Friday's series opener at PeoplesBank Park. It is Boy Scout Night and DownTown's Birthday celebration. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Revs Ticket Office.
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