RiverDogs Stretch Win Streak to Four by Shutting Down Carolina 7-0
Santiago Suarez spun 6.0 dominant innings on the mound as the Charleston RiverDogs blanked the Carolina Mudcats 7-0 in front of 4,914 fans on Thursday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The victory was the team’s fourth in a row and guaranteed a series split against the Mudcats, who
Santiago Suarez spun 6.0 dominant innings on the mound as the Charleston RiverDogs blanked the Carolina Mudcats 7-0 in front of 4,914 fans on Thursday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The victory was the team’s fourth in a row and guaranteed a series split against the Mudcats, who entered the week with the best record in the Carolina League. The win was also the 3,000th in franchise history, a number that dates back to 1980.
The RiverDogs (24-29) jumped out of the gates quickly by scoring in the bottom of the second inning for the second night in a row. The inning began with a walk to Woo Shin by Carolina starter Bishop Letson. Carlos Colmenarez followed with a hard groundball that rolled through the legs of first baseman Blayberg Diaz and left runners on the corners. Ricardo Gonzalez’s fielder’s choice groundout up the middle gave the RiverDogs a 1-0 lead and a wild pitch doubled that advantage before the inning ended.
The lead doubled again in the third inning. Enzo Paulino dropped a double into left field to open the frame. Blake Robertson quickly moved men to the corners with a line shot right back up the middle for a single. Angel Mateo was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Shin grounded into a 6-4-3 double play with Paulino racing home from third. Colmenarez added an RBI triple to extend the margin to 4-0.
Elis Barreat collected his first RBI with the RiverDogs by beating out a potential double play with the bases loaded in the sixth to make it 5-0. The final two runs were added on another extra-base hit from Colmenarez, this time a two-RBI double to the wall in right field.
On the mound, a trio of right-handers combined to work the fourth shutout of the season. Suarez earned his fourth win by returning to his dominant form from early in the season. He allowed just two hits and struck out five. Seth Chavez followed with 2.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and Will Stevens worked a scoreless ninth to close the night.
That trio limited the Mudcats (32-20) to just four hits, two of them from nine-hitter Jose Acosta. Meanwhile, Colmenarez provided two hits and three RBI for the RiverDogs. Robertson also collected two hits and scored a pair of runs. Charleston ended the evening with eight hits in total.
Ballpark Fun
This Thirsty Thursday featured an ode to seldom seen sports. Competitions between innings included a wife carrying contest, air guitar battles and a mullet contest. DJ DollaMenu continued to entertain fans by playing music on Ashley View Pub throughout the game.
The RiverDogs can win the series with a fifth straight victory on Friday night. LHP Drew Dowd (0-3, 3.67) will take the hill to open the game for the RiverDogs. Opposing him will be Carolina RHP Josh Knoth (1-3, 4.25). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.