The York Revolution offense that was no-hit on Opening Night did not show signs of continued struggles on Friday, instead knocking eight hits on the way to their first win of the season, 5-4 over the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars at WellSpan Park.
A night after being on the wrong side of Atlantic League history, York finally got its first hit of the season in the second when Jacob Rhinesmith led off the inning with a rope to right field. Unfortunately for the Revolution, the rally was stifled by an inning ending double play.
Rhinesmith led off the fourth inning with a walk, moved to second on a Jamari Baylor walk, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. That proved crucial as he scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Rudy Martin Jr, giving the Revs their first run and first lead of the 2024 season with a 1-0 advantage.
Chris Vallimont was dominant in his York Revolution debut, not allowing a hit across five shutout innings. He struck out nine, including striking out the side in order in the fifth to end his night.
York looked to string together another rally in the sixth inning as Baylor and Martin Jr both scorched singles to lead off the inning. But with both runners taking off, Paxton Wallace ripped a line drive to left fielder Brandon Pugh who doubled off Martin Jr at first. Reliever Wilber Perez struck out Paul Mondesi to end the threat.
After York righty Michael Horrell struck out a pair to strand two in the sixth, Moises Lugo entered for the seventh and was greeted by Eury Perez who tripled to right center field, just out of the diving reach of center fielder Trey Martin. The Boxcars tied the game at 1-1 one batter later with Perez scoring on a Welington Dotel groundout.
Wilber Perez stayed in for the bottom of the seventh, greeted by Martin and Kobe Kato who both walked to start the inning. Both moved up on a wild pitch after lefty Rob Klinchock entered. With the infield in against Donovan Casey, second baseman Nicholas Diaz made a great diving stop on a hard grounder but spiked the throw to first, allowing Martin to score and Casey to move into scoring position. One batter later, Christian Sepulveda drove in his first two Revs runs with a base hit up the middle on a 3-0 green light, pushing the lead to 4-1. Baylor capped off the four-run frame with a sacrifice fly for a 5-1 lead.
Hagerstown would not go down easily in the eighth inning against York lefty Denny Bentley. Abiatal Avelino launched the first home run in Flying Boxcars history, a two-run shot over the Arch Nemesis in left field to cut the lead in half at 5-3. Bentley was lifted in favor of Frankie Bartow after a two-out walk. After a double steal put two runners in scoring position, Dotel hit a soft grounder to second, but Kato had trouble with an in-between hop, allowing another run to score with York clinging to a 5-4 lead.
Bartow induced an inning-ending fielder’s choice to strand the tying run at third, and went three up, three down in the ninth to close down the four out save and the first win of the Revolution season by a 5-4 score.
Notes: The Revs stole five bases in the game, the most by any Atlantic League team over the season’s first two dates, including two by Baylor. York has stolen a league-high six bags over the first two contests.
Up Next: Southpaw Ethan Lindow will make his Revolution debut on Saturday night with a 6:30 scheduled first pitch. He will be opposed by Chase Solesky for the Boxcars. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2024 Revolution magnet schedule, and fans are welcome to enjoy a Post-Game Fireworks presented by South County Brewing. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
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