Sanchez’s Gem Helps Cats Split Doubleheader

MANCHESTER, NH — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (13-22, 43-60) split a Saturday doubleheader with the Erie SeaWolves (21-16, 59-45) at Delta Dental Stadium. The Fisher Cats dropped the first contest, 10-4, but bounced back to take game two, 3-0, behind an excellent start from right-hander Rafael Sanchez.

In game one, Erie’s Troy Melton (W, 7-6) earned the win with six strikeouts over five innings. SeaWolves righties Eric Silva and Tyler Owens combined for the final two innings.

New Hampshire’s Lazaro Estrada allowed no walks and struck out five in his five innings before exiting a 2-2 game. Fisher Cats righty CJ Van Eyk (L, 3-8) gave up four runs on four hits in the top of the sixth inning before reliever Anders Tolhurst finished the final 1 1/3 innings.

New Hampshire hopped out to a 2-0 lead in Saturday’s first game. Center fielder Dasan Brown recorded his first Double-A hit in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff double. Designated hitter Alex De Jesus followed with an ensuing single. With two outs, Brown scored from third on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Rainer Nuñez to give New Hampshire a 1-0 lead.

Nunez helped the Fisher Cats double their lead over Erie in the bottom of the fourth with a solo blast over the right-center field wall, his team-best 10th of the season, to move game one’s score to 2-0 in the fourth. RJ Schreck belted his first Double-A home run off Silva in the bottom of the sixth.

Erie evened game one with a two-run frame in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by a triple from Ben Malgeri and a game-tying RBI single from Gage Workman. The SeaWolves broke the 2-2 tie with four runs in the top of the sixth against Van Eyk and four in the seventh against Tolhurst. Stratham, NH native Ben Malgeri finished a single short of the cycle.

Game two was another masterclass from Sanchez (W 2-0). The righty made his Double-A debut on August 10: a seven-inning, complete-game shutout against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Saturday, Sanchez tossed 6 2/3 innings and posted zeroes in all. The Cuban struck out seven and allowed four hits and two walks. Sanchez was one strike away from becoming the first Fisher Cats pitcher to throw back-to-back complete-game shutouts. He left with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh; Jonathan Lavallee (S, 1) punched out Malgeri to earn his first Double-A save.

The Cats again scored first — all it took was two batters. Brown smoked his second leadoff double of the day to set the stage for second baseman Michael Turconi’s RBI single off Erie starter Carlos Pena (L, 6-5). In the second, Charles McAdoo led off with a double, and Cade Doughty singled him in. Doughty was cut down trying to stretch his hit into a double. The next batter, Gabby Martinez, clobbered a two-bagger off the right field wall. Two Cats later, Robert Brooks lined his first Double-A hit into left-center, which brought Martinez home and made the score 3-0, New Hampshire.

The five-game series concludes on Sunday, August 11 with a 1:35 PM EDT first pitch on First Responders Day. New Hampshire RHP Abdiel Mendoza (6-7, 3.45 ERA) takes the mound against Erie RHP Garrett Burhenn (4-1, 3.78 ERA) in the series finale.

Fans can purchase multi-game memberships and single-game tickets at NHFishercats.com, via email at [email protected], by phone at (603) 641-2005, and in-person at the Fisher Cats box office on 1 Line Drive in Manchester.

About the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and play their games at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. Over 155 former Fisher Cats have reached the Major League level. The Fisher Cats have raised millions of dollars for various charities through the Fisher Cats Foundation and continuously strive to improve the quality of life for Granite State residents. The organization has been recognized as New Hampshire Business Review’s “Best Sporting Event to Take Clients to”, Parenting New Hampshire Magazine’s “New Hampshire’s Favorite Sporting Event for Families”, and New Hampshire Magazine’s “Best New Hampshire Sports Team”. For more information on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, please visit NHFisherCats.com, call (603) 641-2005, or contact Chris Jared via email at [email protected].