Valleycats built to start faster this season
Tri-city barely missed playoffs in ’21 after losing 16 of 20 to begin year
The Tri-city Valleycats got off to a 4-16 start a year ago and still only missed the Frontier League playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
Valleycats outfielder and designated hitter Denis Phipps, entering his second year with the independentleague franchise, expects to break out of the gate much better this season.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Phipps said. “We’ve got experience, we’ve got arms in the bullpen. Yeah, we’ve got some starters, too. Last year, we started, like, a lot of college (players). But now, we’ve got some veterans and we’ve got a lot of good players.”
The Valleycats open their 20th season of professional baseball on Thursday at the Florence Y’alls. Their home opener is next Tuesday against the Lake Erie Crushers at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.
Tri-city manager Pete Incaviglia and general manager Matt Callahan had to build an independent roster from scratch last season after the Valleycats lost their affiliation with the Houston Astros. The Valleycats also lost several players who signed with affiliated clubs right before the season began.
It showed early in the season. Three of the Valleycats opening-day
Santiago Espinal had an early two-run double — originally ruled a home run — as Toronto quickly built a 3-0 lead against Severino, who started on eight days’ rest.
Yusei Kikuchi pitched five hitless innings before Stanton tied the score in the sixth with a three-run homer off reliever Yimi Garcia that cleared Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch by just a few rows. The 335-foot drive would not have been a home run in any other big league ballpark, according to Statcast.
That’s when the fireworks really started.
Garcia hit the next batter, Josh Donaldson, just around the left elbow pad with a 94 mph fastball on an 0-1 count.
Players on the New York bench didn’t like it, but Donaldson calmly went to first base and the umpires convened on the infield grass.
After a long discussion, crew chief Alfonso Marquez ejected Garcia, enraging the pitcher and several Blue Jays who came spilling out of the dugout. In the heated exchange, Marquez then tossed pitching coach Pete Walker as well.
And when Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga brushed back Bo Bichette with a 97 mph fastball in the seventh, plate umpire Lance Barrett heard something from the Blue Jays bench and ejected flabbergasted manager Charlie Montoyo.
Toronto regained its composure and put together a two-run rally in the eighth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a leadoff walk from Loaisiga and raced all the way home from first with a headfirst slide on Gurriel’s line-drive double to left field off Chad Green.
Gurriel advanced to third on the throw home and scored on Alejandro Kirk’s sacrifice fly.