Drive drop fifth-straight game to Aberdeen, lose 7-3

Gonzalez knocks 11th homer of the year

The Greenville Drive (27-38, 63-68) dropped their fifth-straight game to the Aberdeen IronBirds (33-31, 65-63), this time going down 7-3 as Aberdeen scored five unanswered runs to break a 2-2 tie in the fourth.

It wouldn’t be a sudden offensive outburst that doomed the Drive, but a slow buildup of runs that ultimately gave Aberdeen their fifth win of the series. Drive starter Luis Perales tossed five innings for the Drive, allowing six hits and four runs, two via home runs, while walking two and striking out three.

Samuel Basallo continued his torment of the Drive in the early going Saturday night, sending a two-out blast over the right field wall, his eighth of the year and third of the series, to give Aberdeen the 1-0 lead. Ryan Higgins boosted the lead to 2-0 in the second, bringing home Frederick Bencosme from third on a sac-fly.

Bryan Gonzalez knocked his 11th homer of the year in the fourth, a two-run shot over the left field wall to knot the game at 2-2. But Aberdeen regained the lead just three pitches into their half of the fourth, as Bencosme smacked his second homer of the year to make it 3-2.

Aberdeen stretched the lead to 4-2 in the fifth as a throwing error by catcher Ronald Rosario on a throw down to third to nab the stealing runner allowed Mac Horvath to score. The Drive cut the lead back to one in the sixth as Rosario made up for the error with an RBI-single to score Gonzalez and make it 4-3.

But again, the IronBirds found a way to swipe the momentum back. Ryan Higgins smacked an RBI-triple off reliever Nate Tellier to score Bencosme, but the throw to get Higgins at third was errant from Eddinson Paulino, allowing Higgins to score and make it 6-3. Tellier pitched the sixth allowing just two hits while ringing up one.

Reidis Sena kept the IronBirds hitless and scoreless in his outing in the seventh, picking up a strikeout before giving way to reliever Brock Bell. Bell tossed the eighth, allowing one run on one hit, with the run coming on a Higgins RBI-infield-single to round out the scoring at 7-3.

The Greenville Drive (Boston Red Sox) return to action Sunday, September 10th for the finale of the six-game series with the Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore Orioles). The IronBirds clinched the series and currently lead it 5-0. Sunday’s game also marks the end of the regular season for the Drive with the SAL Playoffs beginning Tuesday, September 12 for a three-game series with the Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers). The Drive return to Fluor Field on September 14th for game two of the three-game divisional series.