Preview: Series finale against Lakewood

Today's Preview: The Grasshoppers (A, Marlins) play for a series win on Sunday afternoon in Game 3 against the BlueClaws (A, Phillies) at First National Bank Field. Greensboro is coming off a narrow loss, 6-5, on Saturday night as Lakewood scored two runs in each of the first three innings to build an early lead. The BlueClaws have climbed within 2.0 games of first place in the South Atlantic League Northern Division while Greensboro remains 7.0 games back, remaining fifth in the standings.
Hoppers Hurlers: Edward Cabrera, 20, makes his 11th start of the season and his fourth this season against Lakewood. He is 1-1 with 0.90 ERA (2 ER/20.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts compared to three walks in three games (three starts) against the BlueClaws, holding Garden State hitters to a .152 average (10-66). His only two scoreless outings this year have come against Lakewood, including a complete-game shutout in Game 1 of a May 20 doubleheader. He is coming off a road win at Delmarva on June 5, allowing two runs (one earned) over 5.0 innings. Cabrera has built a strong resume at home, where he is 1-2 with a 2.08 ERA (5 ER/21.2 IP) and 16 strikeouts in four games (four starts) compared to 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA (16 ER/ 29.0 IP) and 16 strikeouts in six road starts. Last season with Short-Season Batavia, he went 1-3 with a 5.30 ERA (21 ER/35.2 IP) and 32 strikeouts in 13 games (six starts).
Last Time Out: Lakewood scored two runs in each of the first three innings en route to a win, 6-5, over Greensboro on Saturday. BlueClaws hitters Daniel Brito and Rodolfo Duran hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning to boost the lead. Greensboro also used the long ball with a first inning home run by Thomas Jones and a second inning blast from Will Allen. Down 6-2, Greensboro mounted a 3-run frame in the home half of the fourth. Jose Devers smacked a 2-run double, scoring Michael Hernandez and Thomas Jones, to help pull the Hoppers within a run, but the team did not score over the game's final five innings. Lakewood reliever Connor Brogdon (2-2) earned the win, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five. Kyle Dohy tossed the final 2.1 innings of scoreless ball for the save (2). After a rough first three innings, Greensboro's Brandon Miller (2-5) settled down to keep Lakewood off the board in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Despite matching his longest outing of the year, he took the loss, allowing six runs on 10 hits over 7.0 frames.
Do It Like Devers: One day after hitting two triples in a game, Hoppers shortstop Jose Devers continued his strong weekend at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. The 18-year-old infielder has now hit safely in five straight games since June 5, batting .455 (10-22) with a double, two triples, four RBI, and three runs scored in that span. He has also upped his season average from .250 to .276 during this stretch. In 21 games at First National Bank Field, Devers is batting .301 (25-83) compared to .253 (22-87) in 22 road games.
What Can Brown Do For You?:Micah Brown has been the Grasshoppers Swiss Army Knife in 2018, playing any position in the infield as well as right field. He has started 14 games at first base, five at second base, 12 at third base, one at shortstop (Friday's series opener against Lakewood), and eight in right field. Brown has also spent seven games as the team's designated hitter. His versatility was on full display on Saturday against the BlueClaws when he started the game in right field before moving to first base and later moving to second base. This season when playing first base, Brown is batting .340 (17-50) with two doubles, four home runs, and nine RBI while batting .168 (20-119) in all other instances.
Not A Fan Of Being Fanned: Greensboro hitters struck out 15 times on Saturday, equaling the team's season-high which was set on May 19 also against Lakewood. Two Hoppers, Thomas Jones and Marcos Rivera were each fanned three times as nine different Grasshoppers hitters (of 11 that played) struck out at least once. BlueClaws starter Damon Jones fanned six before two relievers Connor Brogdon (five) and Kyle Dohy (four) added to the total.

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