Lexington, KY - Armond Upshaw and Jake Scudder each had two hits for the Hagerstown Suns in an 11-1 loss to the Lexington Legends on Friday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Suns fall to 23-32 in the second half with a 50-73 overall record and will play the third
Lexington, KY - Armond Upshaw and Jake Scudder each had two hits for the Hagerstown Suns in an 11-1 loss to the Lexington Legends on Friday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Suns fall to 23-32 in the second half with a 50-73 overall record and will play the third of four games against the Legends on Saturday night with a 6:35 PM first pitch.
The Suns got on the board in the second inning, flexing their muscles against Lexington starter Daniel Lynch. Alex Dunlap led off the inning but grounded out to short for the first out. Omar Meregildo launched his seventh homer of the season in the next at-bat, putting the Suns up 1-0.
In the bottom of the third, Lexington took the lead against Tim Cate in his second start for the Suns. Kyle Isbel led off the frame with a double to left but scored when Cate attempted a pickoff throw to second that landed in center field. Upshaw mishandled the ball in center, allowing Isbel to score and tie the game. With one out, Nick Pratto bashed his 11th home run of the season to give the Legends a 2-1 advantage.
The Legends extended their lead in the fourth with Cate still on the mound. Cristian Perez led off with a single, moving to second on an errant throw by Juan Pascal at short. Perez was thrown out at third trying to advance on a fielder's choice that put Cal Jones at first. Carlos Diaz singled to move Jones to second and Isbel walked to load the bases. MJ Melendez grounded into a force at second, retiring Isbel while Jones scored to make it a 3-1 Lexington lead. In the next at-bat, Pratto doubled home Diaz, making it a 4-1 Lexington lead.
The Legends scored again in the fifth to increase their lead to four runs, but six runs scored in the seventh with 12 batters coming to the plate. The big hit in the inning was a two RBI triple to right by Cal Jones while Manny Olloque had two hits in the inning to cap a four-hit night. When the dust settled, Lexington had an 11-1 lead and went on to win by the same score.
Cate (0-2) tossed four innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Carlos Pena allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts over two innings. Phil Morse threw just one-third of an inning, allowing six runs on six hits with a walk. Jared Brasher threw the final one and two-thirds innings without allowing a run with a hit and one strikeout.
Notes: Both of Cate's first two starts with Hagerstown have been against Lexington… Upshaw extended his hit streak to eight games… He also had his 15th multi-hit effort of the season… Scudder had his 17th multi-hit game of the year… His performance on Friday extended his hit streak to six games… Meregildo hit his seventh homer of the season in the second inning… It was his first homer on the road… It was also his second go-ahead homer of the season… The Suns have hit 20 one-out home runs in 2018… Hagerstown is 17-29 in games decided by four or more runs… The last time Hagerstown allowed 10 or more runs in a game was August 18 when the Columbia Fireflies defeated the Suns 14-6 at Historic Municipal Stadium… Hagerstown and Lexington continue their four-game series on Saturday with a 6:35 PM first pitch… The Suns will send RHP Andrew Lee (4-3, 4.77 ERA) to the mound against Legends RHP Yefri Del Rosario (5-5, 3.68 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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