(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – Aiven Cabral worked six scoreless innings for the second outing in a row, allowing just one hit as he silenced the Columbia Fireflies in an 8-1 win for the GreenJackets Tuesday night.
The GreenJackets (22-18) are now a perfect 7-0 on Tuesdays this year, including 4-0 at home. Cabral, meanwhile, is a perfect 6-0 and is tied for the most wins in Minor League Baseball, with his ERA sitting at a paltry 2.08.
Columbia (18-22) got on the board right off the jump against Logan Forsythe, but left significant meat on the bone in the frame and then did not score again. A walk, wild pitch, and steal put Sean Gamble at third with two outs, before Brooks Bryan slammed a single up the middle to score him. Forsythe walked the next two and looked to be in danger of a collapse, but induced a soft popup from Roni Cabrera to end the threat.
Augusta could not solve starter Michael Lombardi early, as the righty faced the minimum through three innings. Augusta did put men in scoring position in both the fourth and fifth frames, but both times Lombardi leaned on the strikeout to escape danger, as he completed five scoreless innings for the second time as a pro.
The game’s tune changed when Columbia went to its bullpen in the sixth, selecting Darwin Rodriguez in a piggyback role. Tate Southisene reached on a dropped third strike, before Alex Lodise worked a walk. The two prospects executed a perfect double steal to advance, for two of the season-high ten stolen bases on the night. Luis Guanipa slapped a grounder to first to tie the game, before eighteen-year-old Juan Mateo sliced a two-out single into right to score the go-ahead run.
Augusta kept its foot on the gas offensively, while Cabral controlled Columbia frame after frame on the pitching side. The Jackets tacked on one more in the third courtesy of a Lodise single, after Southisene swiped two more bases to extend his Minor League lead. Augusta pushed the game out of reach, though, in the bottom of the 8th, sending ten men to the plate and scoring five. The highlights of the frame included Dallas Macias’ first professional home run, and the first Single-A hit for 19-year-old prospect Michael Martinez in his GreenJackets’ debut.
Cabral tied his career high with eight strikeouts, and faced the minimum through his last ten hitters as he made an early bid for Carolina League Pitcher of the Week. The Jackets have now won three straight games both overall and at home, and have won seven of their last nine games as they have pulled to a tie for first in the Carolina League.
On Wednesday, the GreenJackets send Derek Vartanian, fresh off his first professional win. Vartanian squares off with Jose Gutierrez, who has been a solid arm and continuous escape artist through the first six weeks of the season.
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