Hoppers lose, but break 20-inning scoring drought
GREENSBORO ― The sense of relief when Fabricio Macias' line drive settled into the grass in front of the left fielder felt like a cool breeze on this stifling hot Wednesday afternoon at First National Bank Field. Endy Rodriguez raced home from second base and scored without a throw. By
GREENSBORO ― The sense of relief when
Endy Rodriguez raced home from second base and scored without a throw. By then, it was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Greensboro Grasshoppers trailed the Wilmington Blue Rocks 9-0 on the way to a 10-4 loss.
But a run's a run, and precious runs have been hard to come by lately.
Macias' RBI single snapped a string of 20 consecutive scoreless innings for the Hoppers dating back to the fourth inning of Sunday's loss in Asheville.
Wilmington's Omar Meregildo went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, and Onix Vega hit a three-run home run for the Blue Rocks (23-21).
Greensboro (20-25) has lost four in a row and five of its last six. The Hoppers have been shut out twice in that stretch, averaging just 2.5 runs per game.
Rodriguez went 2-for-4, and Macias was 1-for-2 with two walks
Losing pitcher
Wilmington starter Tim Cate retired the first 10 Hoppers he faced before
NOTES
- Outfielder Fabricio Macias, who played for the Hoppers in 2019 and 2021, was sent to Greensboro on an injury rehab assignment last week. He's 6-for-20 (.300) with two doubles and four RBIs in six games since rejoining the Hoppers. ... Monday was the one-year anniversary of the game in which Macias hit two grand slams for the Hoppers.
- Endy Rodriguez has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. The switch-hitting Rodgriguez batted .296 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 21 games in May. He's 22-for-68 (.324) since moving into the No. 3 slot in Greensboro's batting order. ... Rodriguez started at catcher Wednesday. The versatile 21-year-old is rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect, and he has played four positions ― catcher, first base, second base and left field ― this season.
- First baseman Jacob Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a run scored Wednesday. He has been one of the South Atlantic League's best players since his promotion from Class-A Bradenton on May 10. He has hit safely in 14 of 17 games since then, with seven multi-hit games. Gonzalez is 24-for-63 (.381) with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
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Hudson Head , a 21-year-old outfielder rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 22 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, went 1-for-4. Head has hits in 15 of his last 17 games. He has reached base in 24 of his last 27 games.
In his career at the News & Record, journalist Jeff Mills won 10 national and 12 state writing awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the N.C. Press Association.