Bundy, Offense Lead Keys in Rain-Shortened Affair

FREDERICK, MD -Dylan Bundy was dominant in his first start at the Grove in 2014, while the Frederick Keys offense tallied 16 hits in a 7-3 rain-shortened win over the Carolina Mudcats on Tuesday night at Harry Grove Stadium. Following one hour and 10 minutes in delays, the game was called after eight innings. Pitching in Frederick for the first time since August 8, 2012, Bundy struck out seven over 4.1 innings, the most strikeouts he had registered in a Carolina League game all season. Offensively, five members of the orange and black finished with multiple hits.

Bundy worked into the fifth inning, scattering five hits. Twice the right-hander struck out the side, while the seven strikeouts were tied for the second-most Bundy had posted in a game since undergoing Tommy John surgery. In the game he threw 73 pitches, and exited after a flyout by Logan Vick. Matt Hobgood stranded a pair of inherited runners to give Bundy his second scoreless outing. In six starts with the Keys, he is 1-2 with a 4.78 ERA.

Frederick tallied four runs off Mudcats starter Cole Sulser in the third inning. Wynston Sawyer opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a base knock by Johnny Ruettiger. Adrian Marin followed with a one-out double down the leftfield line to make it 2-0. Chih-Hsien Chiang (single) and Jason Esposito (sac-fly) also added RBIs to cap-off the inning.  

In the fifth, Frederick stretched its lead to 6-0. Following a leadoff single by Mancini, Sulser (4-10) threw a wild pitch to give the Keys a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, Esposito lashed a single past a drawn-in infield to score Mancini, while singles by Brenden Webb and Sawyer scored Esposito. Tagged with the loss, Sulser lasted 4.1 innings giving up six runs on 10 hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Carolina scored two runs in the sixth on a two-out double by Alex Monsalve, before adding one more run in the seventh on a double by Logan Vick, and fielder's choices by Yhoxian Medina and Yandy Diaz. Frederick scored a single tally in the eighth on a solo homer to right by Jerome Pena. Both Mancini and Sawyer finished 3-for-4 on the night to lead the Keys attack.

The Keys and the Mudcats play the middle game of three on Wednesday night. Dylan Parker Bridwell (5-7, 4.20) makes the start for the Keys and will be countered by Mudcats lefty Ryan Merritt (10-3, 2.59). First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the broadcast can be heard on 1450 AM The Source. For tickets, fans can call 301-815-9939 or visit frederickkeys.com.