Justin Meis pitches Hoppers to lead in I-40 rivalry

Meis works 7 shutout innings in strong start as Greensboro takes 10-9 lead in season series against Winston-Salem

Greensboro Grasshoppers right-hander Justin Meis. (Kaylen Ayres/contributed photo)

By Jeff Mills

August 31, 2022

GREENSBORO ― Starting pitcher Justin Meis threw seven shutout innings, Mike Jarvis and Jase Bowen hit home runs, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers waited out a rain delay before beating the Winston-Salem Dash 7-1 at First National Bank Field on Tuesday night. With the win, the Hoppers (54-64) improved to 27-26

GREENSBORO ― Starting pitcher Justin Meis threw seven shutout innings, Mike Jarvis and Jase Bowen hit home runs, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers waited out a rain delay before beating the Winston-Salem Dash 7-1 at First National Bank Field on Tuesday night.

With the win, the Hoppers (54-64) improved to 27-26 in the second half of the South Atlantic League season. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games to push their record back above .500, but they trail first-place Hudson Valley by 5 games in the North Division standings with just 11 games left in the regular season.

Greensboro also took a 10-9 lead in this summer’s “Battle of I-40” rivalry against Winston-Salem. The Hoppers have won six of the last eight games in the season series, and they’ve outscored the Dash 128-98 head-to-head this year.

They didn’t need much offense Tuesday because Meis (3-4) was flat-out brilliant.

The 22-year-old right-hander was in command from the get-go, working quickly and mixing a low-90s mph fastball with sharp breaking balls to mow down Dash hitters.

Meis allowed just three hits ― two on weak flares that cleared the infield and fell in front of charging outfielders ― and he struck out six in his longest start of the season. He left after throwing an economical 93 pitches in seven innings, and he never allowed a runner past second base.

Meis, a 10th-round pick in last year’s draft, is 3-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 14 starts since his promotion from Bradenton to Greensboro back on June 7. But ever since two disastrous starts following his promotion, Meis has been very good.

In his last 12 starts, he is 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA, striking out 63 in 60⅔ innings with a 1.18 WHIP. Meis has held opponents to a .170 batting average in his last five starts.

Jarvis led off the first inning with a home run, and Bowen hit a solo shot in the second inning to give the Hoppers all the offense they needed.

Jarvis finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Hudson Head went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple, and Jackson Glenn was 2-for-2 with a walk.

Jacob Gonzalez hit a pair of RBI sacrifice flies, and Eli Wilson tripled and scored.

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.