(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
SALEM, VA: Davis Polo kicked off the second leg of the road trip with the longest outing of his pro career, tossing 6.1 innings with one earned run allowed as the Augusta GreenJackets (15-10, 50-41) knocked off the Salem RidgeYaks (13-12, 38-52) 7-4 in seven innings Tuesday night.
Polo struck out four batters in his brilliant outing, and did not allow a run until the seventh inning. This marks the first time in his career Polo has tossed six scoreless innings as a starter, with the righty ceding just four hits in the game as he continuously kept Salem off balance. Polo picked up his fourth win of the year, as many as he had in his first three pro seasons combined.
Augusta’s offense more than held up its end of the bargain, scoring early and often against the RidgeYaks to pick up a strong series win. Cody Miller and Conor Essenburg each had a pair of RBIs, while Alex Lodise kept the offense moving early with a pair of extra base hits against starter Jacob Mayers. Mayers worked into the fourth inning but did not record and out, and departed with five hits, four walks, and five runs on his ledger.
Despite the 26-foot high fence that rings the outfield at Carilion Clinic Field, the GreenJackets’ home run surge that has gone on all season continued again tonight. Nick Montgomery hit his first home run since returning from the IL earlier this month in the fourth inning, while Caden Merritt added his first Single-A homer as he joined the roster today for the first time since early May.
The RidgeYaks did produce a comeback bid late, but Mother Nature had other plans as the rain came falling fast in the bottom of the 7th. Polo departed with two men on and one out after an error and infield single, leaving Kade Woods to keep the shutout in line. Woods gave up a base hit and got his second out, before hanging an 0-2 curveball to Andrews Opata that left the yard for a massive grand slam. Woods walked one more batter, before the rain became too much and the game was called due to storms.
The GreenJackets have now won back-to-back games on this road trip, and have won 13 of 15 games on Tuesdays this year. Augusta looks to keep its good mojo going Wednesday with Kendy Richard on the hill, earning a second chance against Salem after a blown save against them earlier this month.
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