NORTH AUGUSTA — A rather quiet ballgame did not go the way of the GreenJackets, as Augusta’s bats were silenced by the Columbia Fireflies in a 6-2 loss on Tuesday evening.
In a duel between two pitchers named Reyes, it was Columbia’s Emmanuel who outflanked Jeremy of Augusta, with the Fireflies needling at the younger arm to push across four runs and hand Jeremy his 4th loss of the year. Jeremy retired his first four hitters quickly, but then ceded back-to-back walks in the 2nd, and both men would score on a fielder’s choice and a double steal from the small ball-happy Fireflies.
Columbia tacked on in the third with a solo homer from Gabriel Silva out of the nine spot, and Augusta was held off the board by Emmanuel Reyes until the fourth inning. The frame started with a chance for a big jolt, as a double from Luis Guanipa and two walks loaded the bases with no outs. Despite the big chance, the Jackets mustered just one run, as two pop ups and a strikeout left Elio Campos’ sac fly as the only tally off of Reyes.
Jeremy would be chased in the fifth after a one-out walk, and reliever Reibyn Corona received a rude greeting out of the bullpen. After inducing a pop up for the inning’s second out, Henry Ramos whacked an infield single, Yandel Ricardo muscled a one-out double, and Angel Acosta scored them both with a two-run base hit to hand Columbia a 6-1 advantage.
The extra runs tacked on in the fifth would be more than enough for Columbia, as Jeremy Woods emerged from the bullpen in the bottom of the fifth and shut down the GreenJackets’ bats for three scoreless innings. Augusto Mendieta did the same thing in the eighth, and while the Jackets used a walk and a bloop single from Joe Olsavsky to push across one run in the ninth, they never truly threatened Fraynel Nova as he slammed the door for the win.
Despite the rather quiet day at the dish, the GreenJackets did see two bright spots in Guanipa and Olsavsky. Tonight marked the SRP Park return for Guanipa after he was placed on the Injured List in early April and only activated last week, and he responded with a perfect 3-hit night, his first in Augusta. Olsavsky, meanwhile, has now hit safely in all six games he has played with Augusta this year, and provided a steady bat at the bottom of the order.
The GreenJackets will now look to even the series Wednesday night on the back of David Rodriguez, who returns to the rotation having seen success as both a starter and reliever this year. The Fireflies will provide no easy task, however, as they opt to start their highly-touted prospect David Shields after he has been one of the most reliable arms in the division over the last two months.
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