Greensboro, NC - Anderson Franco blasted two home runs for the Hagerstown Suns on Wednesday afternoon as the Greensboro Grasshoppers walked off the Suns 10-8 at First National Bank Field. The Suns fall to 8-18 and will play the series finale on Thursday with a 7:00 PM first pitch.
Greensboro, NC - Anderson Franco blasted two home runs for the Hagerstown Suns on Wednesday afternoon as the Greensboro Grasshoppers walked off the Suns 10-8 at First National Bank Field. The Suns fall to 8-18 and will play the series finale on Thursday with a 7:00 PM first pitch.
Tomas Alastre got the ball for his fifth start of the season for the Suns and Greensboro jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. Lazaro Alonso singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch. Marcos Rivera walked, and Thomas Jones homered to put Greensboro up 3-0. With one out, Jhonny Santos hit a solo homer to left to extend the Grasshoppers lead. Alastre retired the next two batters to end the inning, but Greensboro took a 4-0 lead.
In the fourth Greensboro improved their lead with a pair of runs against Alastre, who was still on the mound. Thomas Jones doubled to left and scored when Michael Hernandez singled to right field to give Greensboro a 5-0 lead. Santos walked and with one out, Hernandez scored when Alastre made an errant throw on a pickoff attempt. Santos went to third, but Alastre struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Hagerstown put five runs on the board in the sixth against Greensboro starter Ryan Lillie and reliever Dustin Beggs. Jack Sundberg double to right and Cole Freeman walked. With one out, Franco launched his first home run of the season over the left field wall to cut the 'Hoppers lead in half at 6-3. Luis Garcia singled to right and Aldrem Corredor did the same, going to third on a fielding error by the right fielder as Garcia scoring to make it a 6-4 game. Beggs entered the game for Lillie and got Kameron Esthay to ground out, but Corredor scored on the play to make it a one-run game with the Suns trailing 6-5.
The Grasshoppers gave themselves a three-run cushion in the seventh with a two-run inning against A.J. Bogucki for the Suns. With one out Lazaro Alonso homered to right to extend Greensboro's lead to 7-5. With two outs Jones reached on a fielding error and went to second on the play, scoring when Hernandez singled to right to make it an 8-5 Greensboro lead.
The Suns powered even in the eighth against Grasshoppers reliever Dustin Beggs. With one out, Franco hammered his second homer of the game on the first pitch he saw over the right-center field wall to get the Suns within a pair of runs, 8-6. Garcia singled and Corredor slugged his second homer of the season over the left field fence to tie the game, 8-8.
Greensboro walked off in the ninth inning to tie the series against Hagerstown reliever Jared Brasher. Jones was hit by a pitch, and in a 1-2 count Hernandez hit his first homer of the season. The ball just cleared the left-center field wall and gave the Grasshoppers a 10-8 walk-off win, dealing the Suns their 18th loss of the year.
Alastre pitched four innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a no decision. Bogucki allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with two walked and three strikeouts. Brasher (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
Notes: Wednesday was the third time Franco hit two home runs in a game for his career… His nine total bases in the game tie for the single-game high for a Suns batter this season… He's tied with Juan Soto, who had nine on April 8 against Rome… Franco has a four-game hit streak… It was his sixth multi-hit game and second multi-RBI game… Sundberg has two-straight multi-hit games… Garcia had his fourth multi-hit game… Corredor had his fourth multi-hit and second multi-RBI game of the year… The Suns have scored total nine runs in the sixth inning between Tuesday and Wednesday this week… Eight Suns had a hit for the second-straight game… It's the first time the Suns have lost on a walk-off homer this season… The Suns have hit two homers in one inning in two straight nights… Hagerstown has hit 10 home runs against Greensboro this season… The Suns are 0-4 on Wednesdays this season, but have hit six homers on the day, the most of any day of the week… The 13 hits are the most in a nine-inning game this season, and tie for the most hits in a game in 2018… The last time they had 13 hits was April 12 against Greensboro in an extra-inning game… The Suns and Grasshoppers will play the series finale on Thursday at 7:00 PM… Hagerstown will send LHP Jackson Stoeckinger (0-2, 9.00 ERA) to the hill against Grasshoppers Edward Cabrera (0-2, 3.57 ERA).
