GreenJackets Wrap Up First Half With Victory At Delmarva

GreenJackets Wrap Up First Half With Victory At Delmarva

Jhancarlos Lara records 10 strikeouts for GreenJackets

*Salisbury, MD* – The Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves) got a Bryson Worrell RBI single in the ninth to take a victory on Thursday, as the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles) left the tying run at second in the ninth. Augusta (31-34) struck out a season-high 15 opponents, while Delmarva (28-37) once again had their fielding called into question in the loss that concludes the first half of the year.

Wednesday’s game was canceled due to rain, and with both teams out of the first half postseason race the game would not be made up. Thursday then became the final game of the first half of the year, with both teams hoping for better fortunes in the second half. Ambioris Tavarez led off the game with a first-pitch double, before Justin Janas advanced him to third with a groundout. Despite Ethan Workinger reaching on a walk, Augusta stranded both runners aboard.

Jhancarlos Lara got the start for Augusta, looking to shed the memories of what had been a rough month of June. Lara needed just 17 pitches to get through the first two innings, retiring the first six men he faced. In the bottom of the third, a leadoff single and a wild pitch put Noelberth Romero at second, before Ambioris Tavarez committed his 15th error of the year on a ground ball that ended up scoring the first run of the game.

In the top of the fourth, the GreenJackets finally found the offense they were looking for. After the first two batters of the inning struck out, a two-out double for E.J. Exposito and a walk for Jair Casanova put two men aboard, before Andrew Keck laced a double to left that scored them both and put the Jackets up 2-1. In the top of the fifth, Augusta picked up another run on Ethan Workinger’s team-high 33rd RBI.

Lara continued to cruise into the bottom of the fifth, notching ten strikeouts, a career high. The ten strikeouts is also the most for an Augusta pitcher in a single game this season. However, errors prolonged the bottom of the fifth, as with the bases loaded Lara got a ground ball to first but ended up muffed, which allowed the tying run to score. Lara was replaced by Nolan Martinez, who surrendered a two-run single but then escaped the inning with the score 4-3. All four of Lara’s runs were unearned.

The drama continued in the top of the sixth. E.J. Exposito led off the inning with his second hit of the day, before advancing to second on a balk and stealing third. Andrew Keck then walked with one out, putting runners at the corners. With Dawson Dimon at the plate, Augusta executed a double steal that resulted in Exposito stealing home on a play that also ended the inning, as Dimon struck out and Keck got caught trying to take third after stealing second successfully to tie it up at 4-4.

The teams remained knotted at four before the top of the ninth. Ambioris Tavarez singled, before Justin Janas reached on an error and Ethan Workinger singled to load the bases. Bryson Worrell singled Tavarez home to put Augusta on top 5-4, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth before Landon Harper pitched a scoreless frame to secure the win, having entered in the eighth.

The GreenJackets finish the first half of the season in fourth place with a record of 31-34. The second half begins tomorrow with a fresh slate for all teams!

The GreenJackets are on the road for two weeks to visit Delmarva (Baltimore Orioles) and Columbia (Kansas City Royals), before returning to SRP Park for a 4th of July Fireworks Extravaganza! For tickets and more, go to greenjacketsbaseball.com.

About SRP Park/Augusta GreenJackets

The Augusta GreenJackets are the Single-A affiliate Atlanta Braves. 2023 Augusta GreenJackets Full, Half and 20-game season seat memberships are on sale now. To learn more about the benefits and to lock in your seat to cheer on the Braves of tomorrow, visit www.gjmembers.com or call (803) 349-WINS (9467). For tickets, team merchandise, and more information visit www.greenjacketsbaseball.com.

SRP Park is the anchor piece of Riverside Village, a live, work, “playball" development which includes apartment living, retail, restaurants, class "A" office space, and a Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about SRP Park and hosting events and availability, visit www.thesrppark.com.

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