Lexington, KY - Andrew Lee struck out 10 and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning only to lose the bid and lead on a two-run homer by Nick Pratto as the Hagerstown Suns fell to the Lexington Legends 2-1 on Saturday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Suns fall
Lexington, KY - Andrew Lee struck out 10 and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning only to lose the bid and lead on a two-run homer by Nick Pratto as the Hagerstown Suns fell to the Lexington Legends 2-1 on Saturday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Suns fall to 50-74 overall and 23-33 in the second half with the finale of both the four-game series and season series set for a 2:05 PM first pitch on Sunday.
Neither pitcher allowed a hit until the fourth, when the Suns took the first lead of the ballgame against Legends starter Yefri Del Rosario. Cole Freeman led off with a single to center field and stole second base with Jake Scudder at the plate. Scudder flew out to right while Freeman tagged and went to third. With one out, Anderson Franco doubled to left, scoring Freeman to give Hagerstown a 1-0 edge.
Andrew Lee was stellar for the Suns, striking out 10 over his six and two-thirds innings of work. He carried a no-hit bid into the seventh but lost both the spotless line and lead on the first hit he allowed on the night. MJ Melendez led off with a walk, and Pratto homered for the second-straight night. The first baseman's 12th home run of the year was a two-run, 405-foot blast to deep center field that gave the Legends a 2-1 lead.
The Suns were held hitless in the seventh and eighth with the lone baserunner in Phil Caulfield, who walked with one out in the seventh, getting picked off at first base that led to both sides clearing benches and exchanging words, though the altercation was quickly de-escalated with no punches thrown and bench warnings issued to each team.
Scudder led off the ninth inning with a walk, but Franco bounced a ball back to the mound on a check swing to start a 1-6-3 double play to put two outs on the board. Kameron Esthay flew out to right field to end the game, with the Suns falling 2-1.
Lee (4-4) tossed six and two-thirds innings in a tough-luck loss, allowing two runs on one hit with three walks and 10 strikeouts in a quality start. Jorge Pantoja finished the game by throwing one and one-third shutout innings while allowing two hits with two strikeouts.
Notes: Lee reached double-digit strikeouts for the second time this season on Saturday… Both times have been against the Legends, with the other serving as his 12-strikeout outing on August 1 at Historic Municipal Stadium… His six and two-thirds innings of work is a new career high… Upshaw extended his hit streak to nine-games… Scudder has a seven-game hit streak… Freeman had his 24th multi-hit game of the season… Franco had two hits on Saturday for his 13th multi-hit effort of 2018… The Suns are 16-17 in one-run games… They're 10-10 in the month of August… The loss is the Suns 11th of the season when they out-hit their opponent… Hagerstown leads the season series, 7-6 with one game left to play… Hagerstown and Lexington will wrap up the season series on Sunday with a 6:05 PM first pitch… The Suns will send RHP Tomas Alastre (4-7, 5.19 ERA) to the mound against Legends RHP Charlie Neuweiler ERA)… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:25 PM on www.hagerstownsuns.com by going to multimedia tab and clicking on "Listen Live"... The broadcast is also available on the Hagerstown Suns Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio and MiLB First Pitch apps.
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