Sweet & Sauer
SI fans get taste of future as prospect dominates
It took Matt Sauer all of one night to improve his status within the Yankees’ organization.
On Opening Night for the Staten Island Yankees, the 2017 secondround pick threw six no-hit innings, striking out three before being removed due to a pitch count in a 3-1 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones to start the New York-Penn League short Single-A season.
“I’ll tell you what, he was in control the whole game, throwing strikes, you know, his breaking ball got a lot better as the game went, and I think that allowed him to really close the door on them,” Staten Island manager Lino Diaz said. “He was in control.”
Sauer said he knew in the back of his mind he had a no-hitter going, but he kept his focus on the game, expecting he eventually would be taken out because he was on a pitch count.
The no-hitter was broken up immediately after Sauer came out of the game, as the Cyclones’ Jose Medina singled off Chase Hodson to open the seventh. Medina advanced to second on a groundout, stole third, then came home when catcher Jerry Seitz’s throw sailed past third baseman Andres Chaparro.
The Yankees battled back in the bottom half of the seventh. Cyclones pitcher Trent Johnson balked first baseman Eric Wagaman home to tie the game at one. Frederick Cuevas then gave Staten Island the lead with a solo homer to rightcenter.
The Cyclones had a chance to tie things back up in the eighth after left fielder Wagner Lagrange singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch with nobody out. But Hodson proceeded to strike out the next two batters and induce a groundout from pinch-hitter Carlos Sanchez to end the inning.
Yankees left fielder Canaan Smith doubled home second baseman Jesus Bastidas in the eighth to tack on an insurance run and Garrett Mun- dell slammed the door shut in the ninth.
“That’s one thing this team did down in Florida [at extended spring training] as well, they just, they don’t stop,” Diaz said. “You know, they keep coming. I cannot tell you how many times in Florida we were down and they would come back in the late innings.”
Early in the game, Staten Island continually threatened with runners in scoring position, but failed to bring any home.
In the first inning, center fielder Junior Soto grounded into an inningending double play with runners on first and second. In the second, a strikeout and pop-out left Chaparro stranded. In the third, Bastidas was caught stealing third. It seemed a breakthrough was inevitable in the fifth, after Staten Island had runners on second and third with nobody out, but Cyclones starter Colton James worked out of the jam.