Preview: Doubleheader deluge begins
Today's Preview: The Grasshoppers (A, Marlins) continue their most strenuous stretch of the season as they play Games 2 and 3 of this 6-games-in-4-days series vs. the Crawdads (A, Rangers) at First National Bank Field. The back-to-back doubleheaders on Tuesday and Wednesday are the result of an April 7 rainout
Today's Preview: The Grasshoppers (A, Marlins) continue their most strenuous stretch of the season as they play Games 2 and 3 of this 6-games-in-4-days series vs. the Crawdads (A, Rangers) at First National Bank Field. The back-to-back doubleheaders on Tuesday and Wednesday are the result of an April 7 rainout in Greensboro as well as an April 26 rainout in Hickory. With Wednesday's doubleheader starting at 12pm, the Hoppers and Crawdads are slated to play four games in 24 hours.
Hoppers Hurlers: Dustin Beggs, 24, makes his third start and 12th appearance of the season in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader, facing Hickory for the first time in 2018. Last year against the Crawdads, Beggs went 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA (7 ER/17.0 IP) and 11 strikeouts in four games (four starts). In his two starts this year, he has thrown 8.2 scoreless innings, striking out nine and walking two. As a reliever, he is 2-0 with a 4.95 ERA (11 ER/20.0 IP) and 26 strikeouts. In his second outing of the year, Beggs matched his career-high with eight strikeouts in a 3.0-inning relief appearance on April 27 at Asheville. He spent all of 2017 with Greensboro in the starting rotation, going 10-6 with a 3.86 ERA (64 ER/149.1 IP) and 107 strikeouts in 26 games (26 starts). Miami selected Beggs in the 16th round of the June 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Kentucky.
Going In Game 2: Nestor Bautista, 26, makes his first start of the year and first since the 2015 season. Bautista, who has not faced Hickory this season, is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA (1 ER/11.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts in six games at home compared to posting a 5.00 ERA (10 ER/18.0 IP) and 20 strikeouts in eight road outings. Bautista is coming off a season-long-tying 3.2 innings of work, allowing a run on three hits, on June 7 at Delmarva. His most recent start came in his finale outing of 2015, a Sept. 4 with Batavia at State College when he tossed 4.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits. He worked a career-long 6.0 innings with the GCL Marlins in a scoreless outing against the GCL Mets on Aug. 15, 2014. The Marlins selected Bautista in the 32nd round of the June 2014 First-Year Player draft out of Ball State.
Last Time Out: Catcher
Hoppin' Thieves: Greensboro stole a season-high five bases on Monday against Hickory, with a season-high two players recording multiple swiped bags in a game. Both
Do It Like Devers: After hitting two triples in a game on Friday, Hoppers shortstop Jose Devers continued his strong weekend at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Saturday. Through Monday, the 18-year-old infielder has hit safely in seven straight games since June 5, batting .433 (13-30) with a double, two triples, four RBI, and three runs scored in that span. He has also upped his season average from .250 to .276 during this stretch. In 21 games at First National Bank Field, Devers is batting .308 (28-91) compared to .253 (22-87) in 22 road games.