Strong Bullpen Effort Falls Short 

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (22-44, 52-82) were blanked by the Somerset Patriots (41-24, 73-61) at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday night in a 3-0 final. The Fisher Cats bullpen tossed 8 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

New Hampshire brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth and ninth but stranded two runners on base in each frame.

Cats starter Abdiel Mendoza (L, 8-12) allowed three runs, one of which was earned, on three hits. Mendoza recorded one out but exited the contest in the bottom of the first after taking a ground ball off his left foot. A bullpen game ensued, and New Hampshire’s bunch excelled.

Right-handers Nick Fraze, Adrian Hernandez and Ryan Jennings combined to blank Somerset for the remainder of the contest. Fraze tossed 3 2/3 after coming out of the bullpen cold, Hernandez’s three scoreless frames tied a single-game season high in innings pitched, and Jennings’s fastball touched 97 miles per hour in his eighth inning.

The New Hampshire offense managed two hits against Somerset starter Zach Messinger (W, 7-8) in six innings. Patriot bullpen arms Ryan Anderson, Luis Pacheco and Jesus Liranzo (S, 3) finished off the contest.

Eddinson Paulino had two of New Hampshire’s four hits Friday night; Paulino has four hits over his last nine at-bats. Josh Rivera put the pressure on Somerset’s Liranzo in the ninth with a two-out double.

The final night game of the 2024 season gets underway at 6:35 PM EDT from TD Bank Ballpark. New Hampshire’s Michael Dominguez (2-7, 4.45 ERA) gets the go for the Fisher Cats against Somerset’s Cam Schlittler (1-4, 4.94 ERA).

Every Fisher Cats home game is streamed live on MiLB.tv and through the Bally Live App; fans can listen to every Fisher Cats game on the Fisher Cats Radio Network.

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].