A nice light week staying local and a major first for me. I was at the first game at Nationals Park and the first game at the newly renovated now-FNB Field in Harrisburg, but I’ve never seen a franchise play its very first game. When I saw that the High Point Porch Rockers would open up in Lancaster I circled the date on my calendar. I was hoping for York but Lancaster is close enough. I lived in Baltimore when the Revolution started up (and they played their first games in Camden, New Jersey since the stadium was not finished) so I didn’t get up for many of those games, I was in college when Lancaster started and I had no interest in minor league ball when Aberdeen started. I don’t think too many other teams will be starting in the area so this might be my last chance for awhile. Maybe if the new Fredericksburg Nationals open in Frederick (well, that’ll be a confusing set of games!) or something like that, but that’s not really a team’s very first game since they are moving from Woodbridge.
Game #22 Altoona @ Harrisburg. Time now for the Route 22 rivalry and a visit to City Island by my favorite affiliated minor league team. They are not quite as mighty as they were last year and Harrisburg has been off to a blistering start. Part of that may be because the Nationals are a bit reluctant to promote players to AAA Fresno since apparently it takes almost two days to get anyone from there to another city on the east coast. I find that hard to believe nowadays but that’s what I’ve heard. That should mean more rehabbing players in the Harrisburg too.
It’s been awhile since the Senators won the Eastern League, so why not? It’ll give me something to do in September. Or they could just fizzle. In the past few years the team with the best record has not taken the league crown home, though that may have just as much to do with the AAA and major league clubs needing players as well necessitating promotion. But with the new split season format in the Eastern League that may just clinch the first half and at least make be qualified so I can schedule ahead.
Wil Crowe took the mound for the Senators against Dario Agrazal for Altoona but I also had another first in this game. This was a pitcher’s duel as both Crowe and Agrazal mowed down opposing hitters and it seemed like the ump had a strike zone that an aircraft carrier could fit into. Altoona got one man to third and Harrisburg never got a man past second while both were on the mound. By the end of the 7th the game was at about the 1 hour 20 minute mark, which I like, especially on a Monday night. Senator reliever Joan Baez got through the Curve 8th, so far he has pitched his way out of winning the Joan Baez Kevy (and how much do you want to bet he’ll be traded to the Pirates in the near future?) but Curve reliever Vincente Campos gave up a solo shot to shoe man Chuck Taylor (henceforth to be known on here as Shoes), which just got onto the right field porch. Aaron Barrett finished off the Curve in the ninth at 8:26, 4 minutes shy of a 2 hour game for a Harrisburg 1-0 win. I’ve seen sub 2-hour games played as a 7-inning game that was part of a doubleheader but never a nine inning game. I got home a few minutes after 9:00. Overall it was also a good night, my lucky number was called so I won a free oil change from CJ’s and the Pizza Hut K-man struck out and the person at the gate was giving out multiple coupons, so lots of free Pizza Hut breadsticks are coming my way!
Game #23 Altoona @ Harrisburg. A good day to start, I found 55 cents laying on the ground this morning. Stopped at Zeroday brewing for a beer beforehand. Erick Fedde pitched for Harrisburg against Cam Vieux for Altoona in what one would have thunk would be the best pitching matchup of the series, but after last night that is going to be hard to duplicate. Obviously after the previous night that would be hard to live up to. The weather forecast for this one looked awful but it started on time with no delays. There was other good news, Altoona scored a run! They were up 2-0 when Harrisburg struck back, scoring on a Fedde RBI single and an Ian Sagdal 3-run shot. Altoona came back to tie the game late but Harrisburg’s great start continued when Drew Ward knocked in the winning run in the 8th. Harrisburg wins 5-4. This edition of the Curve is not that good. I don’t see any future major league hitters on this team.
Also in a funny moment, the Designated Driver of the Game had the last name of Drank. Maybe not laugh out loud funny but at least ironic funny.
Game #24 Chicago @ Baltimore. Team #10 off the board in the South Siders. Didn’t get to Harrisburg for the day game, had stuff to do. Stopped in at Waverly since it is near the Light Rail at the Woodberry stop. Ervin Santana started for the Pale Hose against John Means for the Orioles. Now the Orioles won big the night before so I figured that there wouldn’t be a snowball’s chance in hell of them winning tonight. I have yet to see the play a close game this year much less win a game but tonight the Orioles had an ace in the hole in Santana. I have also never seen Santana throw a good game and I’ve seen him pitch 5 times for 4 different teams. The Orioles had no problem getting to him, plating 4 runs in the first four innings. That was it for the offense but Means pitched a decent game only giving up 1 run through 5. Now it would be up to the bullpen and it is a crapshoot with these guys. The South Siders plated one run off of Evan Phillips (should have gotten more!) and got one off of Mychal Givens and got the tying run on third with one out but Givens got out of it. So cue the fireworks, the Orioles win 4-3! And despite what the crowd looked like the Orioles did manage to outdraw every minor league team on this night (though Las Vegas was close).
Game #25 New Hampshire @ Reading. I would have headed down to Hagerstown but the forecast called for rain and their field does not work well with water. They wound up playing. Reading’s forecast was much more favorable with rain not set to hit until later at night, so I headed up there. Stopped at Stoudt’s Brewing for a beer beforehand. Yennsy Diaz started for the Fisher Cats against Mauricio Llovero for the Fightins. Diaz struggled early finding it hard to find the strike zone and he was nearly yanked in the first. He dug his hole deeper before finally being yanked in the fourth and his replacement continued to dig the hole deeper as the game wore on before he was mercifully yanked. His replacement gave up a 3-run shot to Darrick Hall and that was more than enough for Reading. Llovero was a bit wild but didn’t give up much in the way of hits (didn’t realize that as a team New Hampshire only had one hit all night) and Reading’s bullpen shut the door from there. Reading wins 8-1. I feel that I am doomed for Saturday. On the bright side I now have half of the Eastern League in.
Game #26 High Point @ Lancaster. Opening night for the Atlantic League and another first for me: The first game in High Point Porch Rocker history. I doubt attending this game will get me anything when I get down there later this year but we’ll see. I took a flew slings and arrows over skipping opening day for the Revs but too bad. First a stop at Wacker Brewing, not the easiest place to find. Lots of firsts obviously in this game. Their first batter was Tyler Ladendorf when he faced Lancaster’s Jonathan Albaladejo. He got High Point’s first hit when he singled. High Point’s first pitch was from Matt Sergey when he faced Lancaster’s Darian Sandford, a ball. Sergey committed their first error when he tried to pick off Sandford at second and threw the ball into centerfield. In the 4th Ladendorf hit a 2-run home run, High Point’s first scoring Shane Opitz, who scored the franchises’ first run. On a cold and windy night they also got to Lancaster’s bullpen, plating 5 runs off of them, so most importantly High Point wins it’s first ever game 7-1 with Ashur Tolliver getting the win.
Game #27 Greensboro @ Hagerstown. Normally a visit by the Greensboro Grasshoppers is not a big deal but this year it is. The Pirates are no longer affiliated with the West Virginia Power and moved on to Greensboro over the winter, so to Hagerstown I go. Made a visit to the Antietam battlefield. Haven’t been there in a few years so it is nice to get back (but it was windy!) and then had a pregame beer at Cushwa in Williamsport. We’ll see if I have the same luck with the Grasshoppers as I did with the Power, i.e. never seeing them win. The only time I saw the Power win was the resumption of rained out games that they already had a big lead so we’ll see if that continues. Who knows, maybe my luck will stay in West Virginia.
This one had the lookings of a pitcher’s duel. Osvaldo Bido and his 0.40 ERA started for Greensboro against Tim Cate and his 1.20 ERA for Hagerstown. It didn’t start that way, both teams plated a run in the first and Hagerstown added another in the second. Both calmed down but the long ball was the theme of the day, with the wind blowing out to right center. Connor Kaiser hit one for Greensboro in the first and Fabricio Macias added one in the 5 off of Cate. Then the Suns pen melted down. Leif Strom surrendered home runs to Kaiser again and Zack Kone and then Jared Brasher gave up long balls to Rodolfo Castro, Macias again and to top it off York County’s own Brett Kinneman added a 2-run shot in the 9th for good measure. I’m sure the Kinneman fan club that made their way down to Hagerstown were quite happy with that. Greensboro wins 13-2. Feeling good I also stopped at Center Square Brewing in Abbottstown on the way back. Nice place there in the Altland House. I’ve driven by it hundreds of time, so it was time to stop.
Game #28 Long Island @ York. First Revs game of the year! Got my autograph pennant started on a cold, damp day. It has not been a good opening series for the Revs. Long Island has a roster full of ex-major leaguers and I think that they could give some AAA teams a run for their money. To start Dustin Richardson started for the Revs against Darin Downs for the Ducks. The Ducks struck first and basically managed to stay one run ahead of the Revs until the 7th. Then the floodgates opened. The Revs bullpen has been bad this year and the lead went from 1 to 5 quickly. Now, the good news was that that was all the Ducks got and compared to the last few nights this was a much better game but Long Island still wins this one 8-4. Hopefully New Britain will be a more competitive series. On a positive note in just one weekend I have seen half of the Atlantic League teams. And I also scored my first foul ball of the season!
On the docket for next week (weather permitting)
April 29 – St. Louis @ Washington
April 30 – Detroit @ Philadelphia
May 1 – New Britain @ York
May 2 – New Britain @ York (day game if nothing to do)
May 2 – Trenton @ Harrisburg
May 3 – Carolina @ Wilmington
May 4 – Trenton @ Harrisburg (Juan Soto Bobblehead)
May 5 – Tampa @ Baltimore
