Quinn Priester's dominant start leads Hoppers to 5th straight win

Nick Gonzales goes 4-for-5 as Greensboro improves to 15-7 in "Battle of I-40" rivalry

Greensboro ace right-hander Quinn Priester struck out 10 in seven shutout innings against Winston-Salem. (Jak Kerley/Greensboro Grasshoppers)

By Jeff Mills

August 13, 2021

WINSTON-SALEM ― Ace right-hander Quinn Priester turned in his best start as a pro, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to their fifth straight victory, a 4-1 win over the Winston-Salem Dash on Friday night at Truist Stadium. Priester (5-3, 2.80 ERA), a 20-year-old rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2

WINSTON-SALEM ― Ace right-hander Quinn Priester turned in his best start as a pro, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to their fifth straight victory, a 4-1 win over the Winston-Salem Dash on Friday night at Truist Stadium.

Priester (5-3, 2.80 ERA), a 20-year-old rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, pitched seven scoreless innings, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out 10.

It was the second time in 23 pro games that Priester worked seven innings. The 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft threw 90 pitches and faced just six batters over the minimum thanks to a pair of double-play grounders.

Nick Gonzales, a second baseman rated as Pittsburgh's top prospect, went 4-for-5 with a triple and a run scored to lead the Grasshoppers offense.

The Hoppers (56-32) improved to 15-7 head-to-head against the Dash (33-54) in the "Battle of I-40" season series. Just two games remain in the renewed rivalry between the neighboring cities. This is the first summer since 1968 that teams from Greensboro and Winston-Salem have played in the same league in the minors.

Greensboro moved one game ahead of the Hudson Valley Renegades (55-33) in the chase for the second-best record in the High-A East with 32 games left in the regular season. The top two teams in the league, regardless of division, qualify for a best-of-five championship series.

Lolo Sanchez went 2-for-4 and hit an RBI double in the first inning to open the scoring.

Jared Triolo went 2-for-4 with a walk, and he scored an insurance run in the eighth inning on Blake Sabol's RBI triple. Will Matthiessen followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1.

Jonah Davis hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to give the Hoppers a 4-0 lead.

Right-hander Garrett Leonard worked the last two innings to earn his first save, striking out four and allowing only Alex Destino's solo home run in the ninth.

Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft who made his Greensboro debut Thursday, got the night off.

Greensboro's Liover Peguero, a shortstop rated as Pittsburgh's No. 4 prospect, returned to the lineup after missing three games. He led off for the Hoppers and went 1-for-5 with a double.

Notes

Greensboro remains in second place, six games behind Bowling Green (62-26) in the High-A East's South Division. The top two teams in the league ― regardless of division ― qualify for the best-of-five championship series. The Grasshoppers and North Division leader Hudson Valley are both chasing the second postseason spot. The Hoppers and Renegades play 12 head-to-head games in the final 20 days of the season.
Greensboro has won 15 of its last 20 games and is 28-10 since July 1. The Hoppers have won or split all 15 of their six-game series this season.
Third baseman Jared Triolo has hit safely in 31 of his last 33 games, batting .358 (49-for-137) with seven doubles, six home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in that span. He ranks second in the High-A East (behind promoted teammate Matt Fraizer) with a .303 batting average, and Triolo is third in the league with 61 RBIs.
Lefty-hitting catcher Blake Sabol has hit safely in 18 of his last 22 games, going 29-for-83 (.349) with five home runs, six doubles and two triples during that span.
Nick Gonzales, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, has batted .354 (29-for-82) with four home runs, five doubles and a triple in his last 19 games, raising his season batting average to .285.