Valleycats, Miners split twin bill on eventful Saturday night at ‘The Joe’
TROY, NY >> There were plenty of headlines to go around from the Valleycats double-header on Saturday evening including a fiverun comeback, a ‘sticky-stuff’ ejection, and an appearance by Tino Martinez.
“I gotta tip my hat to our guys. We got down 5-0 early and they kept clawing and scratching and trying to get back in the game,” said Valleycats manager Pete Incaviglia.
Tri-City dropped the first game by a score a 4-1 and then completed five-run comeback to split the double-header and win the second, 9-6.
The Miners scored two runs in each the first and second innings off Valleycats starter Parker Kelly, to take a 4-0 lead in the first game. The Valleycats got five hits in the game, with their only run coming from a RBI single by Oscar Campos.
Dwayne Marshall went six strong innings for Sussex County, allowing just the one run and earning the win. Michael Mediavilla picked up his 13th save of the season for the Miners, while Kelly took the loss for Tri-City.
Sussex picked up five runs in the top of the first inning of the second game, although the tide turned a bit after Miners starter Max Herrmann was ejected due to the use of a foreign substance.
“I don’t know if that has anything to do with whether we would have scored nine runs or not,” Incaviglia said. ” The reason why I did it is because it was illegal”
The Miners were then forced to bring in Mike Castellani on short notice. The ‘Cats would pick up four runs in the bottom of the second, making it a onerun ballgame. The innings was highlighted by a tworun home run by Connor Lien, in his first full day as a Valleycat.
The Miners would get one more in the top of the third and the Valleycats three in the bottom half, taking a 7-6 lead in the game.
Another new Valleycat, Carson McCusker, got the job done with a go-ahead, two-out, two-strike, threerun home run, giving TriCity that 7-6 lead.
“Carson’s been swinging the bat extremely well. He’s a hard worker, he does the things he’s supposed to do, he listens and he wants to get better everyday,” Incaviglia said. “Connor (Lien) was great today too, he’s exactly as advertised. He’s a guy that can go get it in centerfield and have some pop in his bat. He hit a tworun homer today and we’re happy to have him.”
Denis Phipps and Willy Garcia each had RBIs in the bottom of the sixth, making it 9-6.
In the top of the fourth, Francisco Jimenez relieved Valleycats starter Logan Dubbe, who allowed six runs over three innings. Jimenez would be nearly perfect in his three innings of work, allowing just one hit and recording six strikeouts over the span of his nine outs.
“We wouldn’t be here without Frankie’s efforts all year. Sometimes we ask him to come in and throw an inning. Sometimes we ask him to come in and throw three innings. He’s been a great pitcher for us and is really someone we count on at the end of games.”
Trey Cochran-Gill would seal the deal in the top of the seventh, earning his 18th save of the season.
The Miners and Valleycats will finish their threegame series on Sunday, a rubber game, at 5 p.m. at Joe Bruno Stadium. TriCity is now 36-33 this season and Sussex is 38-31. The ‘Cats are in first place of the Atlantic Division, while the Miners are at the top of the Northeast Division.
ROSTER NOTES
During the Valleycats series this week at the New Jersey Jackals, Juan Silverio and Nelson Molina collided in the infield, causing Molina to be out of the lineup and Silverio to move over to shortstop for the time being.
“Juan came up as a shortstop. He’s played short, second, third. He’s got really good hands. He probably doesn’t have the range he used to have, but he’s a guy that we can trust,” Incaviglia said. “Nelson’s got a bit of a sore ankle. The x-rays were negative and he swung a bat a little bit in the cage today and he’s going to take some ground balls tomorrow, so he’s day-to-day.”
TINO MARTINEZ APPEARANCE
Initially, New York Yankees legend Tino Martinez was scheduled to throw out the first pitch of the night game on August 14. Martinez, who actually took over the first pitch duties for Lou Piniella, was delayed getting to Albany from Miami, FL, due to flight delays.
He arrived near the end of the second inning and took to the field in-between innings to wave hello to the fans at ‘The Joe’.
“It was great to see Tino, he looked great. I’m really happy he took the time to come out and be at the ballpark,” Incaviglia said. “He’s a legend in these parts, he played on some really great teams with the Yankees. We played against each other for years. He played pretty much around the same time that I did.”
Some fans were able to catch the Yankee legend before he left and able to get some autographs.