(Story courtesy Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – The GreenJackets’ pitching staff, which included backup catcher Jose Marcano, walked 11 batters for the second time this season and were handed their first loss of the week against the Charleston RiverDogs Wednesday evening 9-6.
Young starter Jeremy Reyes took the ball for his SRP Park debut, and after retiring the first four batters he faced, slowly watched his command dissipate. Reyes walked Woo Shin in the second, who would eventually score on a Bryan Broecker base hit to put the RiverDogs up 1-0. After a bounce-back third, Reyes fell flat in the fourth, walking four batters including one with the bases loaded and seeing another cross on a passed ball. While both runs were unearned due to a two-out error on a foul pop up from Will Verdung, the lengthy inning chased Reyes from the game after four.
The GreenJacket offense answered in the bottom half off of starter Drew Dowd, scoring a pair of unearned runs to bring the deficit back to one. Luis Sanchez began the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Kade Kern worked a one-out walk. Dowd attempted to pick off Kern, but Shin dropped the ball while trying to tag Kern at first, watching the ball roll away and allowing Sanchez to score. Dowd would try once again in the at bat, and chucked the throw down the line, moving Kern to third and giving him the chance to score on a Harry Owen sac fly.
The middle innings were where Charleston took control, tacking four runs on against the Augusta bullpen. Giomar Diaz worked just one inning, allowing two hits and two walks to score two runs in the fifth. Rolando Gutierrez emerged next in his first appearance since being recalled from the FCL, and after a scoreless sixth, lost his command and walked two men with two outs in the seventh, which allowed Broecker to bring them both home on another base hit.
The GreenJackets last gasp came in the bottom of the seventh, when Dowd gave way to Cade Halemanu making his season debut in a 7-2 game. Halemanu allowed five singles and four runs in the inning, with Sanchez and Leiker Figueroa each driving in two runs to bring the team within a run.
The eighth inning brought forth the debut of Isaac Gallegos, who had been on the injured list since before Opening Day. Gallegos did not allow a run and struck out two in the eighth, but allowed three hits and a run in the ninth before reaching the maximum pitch count his continued rehab allowed. Out of options, and on day two of a 12 game, 12 day stretch, Wynston Sawyer made the unconventional move to bring in a position player in a two-run game. Backstop Jose Marcano continued his year of doing anything asked of him and took the mound with the bases loaded. After walking in a run, Marcano amazed the park by retiring back to back batters on pop ups and limiting the damage.
Adam Boucher did not allow a baserunner in the eighth or ninth, slamming the door and sealing a RiverDog win with his second save of the year. Jeremy Reyes took his first loss in a GreenJackets uniform despite allowing just one earned run, while the win went to Drew Dowd, the first of his professional career after being drafted out of Stanford last summer. Thursday will be a pitchers’ duel to watch, as Gary Gill Hill and Didier Fuentes each look to continue their dominant ways with the other standing in the way.
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