Grasshoppers shutout Jackets 7-0

GREENSBORO, NC: The Augusta GreenJackets (66-57, 30-25) dropped the 3^rd game of the series with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (73-50, 29-25) by a final score of 7-0 on Saturday night. It's the 9^th time the Jackets have been shutout this year, and it's the 4^th time it has occurred in the month of August.

The Asheville Tourists defeated the Charleston Riverdogs 6-5, and they now have a two-game advantage on the Jackets in the 2^nd half standings.
After neither team scored a run in the first two-innings, it was Greensboro getting on the board first in the 3^rd. Jonah Davis hit a solo home run, his 16^th of the year, and it was 1-0 Grasshoppers. Later in the 3^rd inning, Greensboro added another run. With the bases loaded, Luke Mangieri came up and drew a walk to extend the Greensboro lead to 2-0.
Greensboro's Winston Nicasio was light-out on the mound for the Grasshoppers. He went six-innings of shutout baseball and the GreenJackets offense collected just three hits off him. Trenton Toplikar was terrific for the GreenJackets as well. Other than the two-runs he allowed in the 3^rd inning, which one of those runs was unearned, he finished his night after six frames.
Greensboro added more runs in the 7^th inning. They brought home three runs, all of them scoring on walks with the bases loaded, and the lead was 5-0. In the 8^th inning, Greensboro tacked on two more, due to three GreenJackets errors. Augusta could not scratch across any runs, and they fell 7-0.
Tomorrow's Game: 4:00 PM vs Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates), First National Bank Field, Greensboro, North Carolina
Pitching Matchup: (GBO) RHP Alex Manasa (9-3, 3.42 ERA) vs (AUG) RHP Keaton Winn (6-7, 3.30 ERA)
Keaton Winn will make the start in the series finale for the GreenJackets on Sunday. Winn is coming off one of the best outings of his career on August 13^th vs Greenville. In that performance, he went seven-innings and allowed only one-run. He picked-up the win and he finished with six strikeouts and had only two walks. Winn leads the GreenJackets in innings with 117 1/3 this year. He has 90 strikeouts to just 24 walks in 2019. The right-hander has given the GreenJackets at least five-innings on the mound in each of his last seven starts. Winn was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 20^th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He decided to return to Iowa Western Community College, and the Giants drafted him again the following year, this time in the 5^th round.
Alex Manasa will take the mound for Greensboro, and it will be the 3^rd start he has made against the GreenJackets in 2019. In his first outing on April 17^th at SRP Park, Manasa went 5 2/3 and he allowed just one-run, while collecting the win. Manasa pitched again at SRP Park on July 20^th and he allowed four-runs in just three-innings, while getting the loss. Manasa ranks 4^th in the South Atlantic League in Innings with 123 2/3. He has 108 strikeouts this year to only 24 walks. In his last outing, he went six-innings of shutout baseball. Manasa was drafted in the 11^th round of the 2017 MLB Draft from Jackson Community College.
About the Augusta GreenJackets
SRP Park is the anchor piece of Riverside Village, a live, work, "playball" development which includes apartment living, senior living, retail, restaurants, class "A" office space, and a Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about SRP Park and hosting events and availability, visit www.thesrppark.com.
 
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