Valdez' Heroics Fuel Eight-run Eruption In ValleyCats' Win
The Tri-City ValleyCats rode an eight-run third inning to their series-opening win against the Lowell Spinners on Thursday night, behind three hits from Enmanuel Valdez.
The Tri-City ValleyCats rode an eight-run third inning to their series-opening win against the Lowell Spinners on Thursday night, behind three hits from
Valdez went 3-for-4 on the night, picking up his New York-Penn League-leading third home run of the season and team-leading second stolen base.
Hitting at the top of the order for his first time with the ValleyCats, Valdez ended up reaching base in all four of his trips to the plate, coming up a triple shy of the cycle.
Although he didn't pick up a run-batted-in on the play, Valdez brought home the ValleyCats' first run of the day in the third inning, when he reaching on a throwing error by Lowell shortstop
The error brought home
Lowell third baseman
After Wielansky came around to score on a wild pitch,
Costes, who started his Minor League career by going 0-for-11, drove his first career hit into the left-center field gap to plate Rodriguez and Machado in prolonging the ValleyCats' provisional seven-run eruption.
Costes motored into third base on the play, hitting the ValleyCats' first triple of the season.
Juan Pineda finally ended the inning by bringing Ramiro Rodriguez home on a base hit that made the score 8-1 Tri-City at the time.
The ValleyCats' eight-run third inning was a season-high, and it came just one day after they scored seven runs in the third inning of Wednesday night's win in Aberdeen.
By the time the night was all said and done, the ValleyCats collected a season-high 10 hits, winning back-to-back games for the first time in 2018.
The game was started for the ValleyCats by right-handed pitcher Jose Hernandez, who is on a rehab assignment for High-A Buies Creek.
Hernandez, who underwent Tommy John Surgery and sat out the entire 2017 season, gave up one run in his two innings of work before handing the ball off to lefty
Hardy recorded outs on all four batters that he faced, before leaving the game with an apparent knee injury on his own power and qualifying for his first win of the year.
Now above the .500 mark for the first time since their Opening Night win, the ValleyCats will try to lock down their second straight series win on Friday night against Lowell.
First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning on the Tri-City ValleyCats Radio Network with Steven Cusumano 30 minutes prior to first pitch.