NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - The RiverDogs offense showed some signs of life late but continued to flounder to finish off the road trip as the GreenJackets claimed their second win in the past three days over Charleston, taking the Wednesday night finale by a 4-2 final at SRP Park.Charleston (48-49,
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - The RiverDogs offense showed some signs of life late but continued to flounder to finish off the road trip as the GreenJackets claimed their second win in the past three days over Charleston, taking the Wednesday night finale by a 4-2 final at SRP Park.
Charleston (48-49, 11-16) fireballer Luis Medina (1-8) was electric to start the night, striking out the side in the bottom of the first, marking the second straight outing he had fanned the first three hitters he faced. Coming off his best start of the year when he punched out a career-best 10 over six shutout frames last Thursday, the 20-year-old couldn't roll the confidence into his second trip through the order when Augusta (50-45, 14-13) plated three on four straight hits to open the fourth. Medina would shrug off the rough inning to go six full innings, allowing four runs (three earned) while striking out seven. The Dominican arm had entered play leading the league with 56 walks but did not permit a free pass for the first time in 16 starts. The outing lowered his ERA to a season-best 7.33 mark.
Center fielder Brandon Lockridge set the table for the Charleston lineup all night long by reaching in all four trips to the plate, but the RiverDogs' offensive woes continued as they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and managed just three hits over the first seven innings.
The Dogs got to reliever Keith Weisenberg when he came out for a third inning of work in the eighth, loading up the bases on three straight one-out singles by Eduardo Torrealba, Lockridge and Oswald Peraza. Left fielder Canaan Smith worked a 3-2 count before taking a pitch low to get Charleston on the board. Right fielder Josh Stowers squared up a ball to third, nearly bouncing into an inning-ending double play that instead made it a 4-2 game as he raced down the line to beat out the errant throw. The former Braves farmhand bounced back on the mound to coax a fly ball out of Eric Wagaman and avoid further damage. The night marked the club's fifth straight game scoring three or fewer runs and their 18th time in 28 games to start the second half; Charleston ranks second-last in the South Atlantic League in runs scored (95) during that stretch.
Giants No. 4 prospect Logan Webb, assigned to the Augusta roster on rehab assignment after an 80-game PED suspension, twirled five scoreless innings and struck out four, including finishing his evening with three straight punchouts. The 22-year-old right-hander had made five starts in Double-A to start the season before sitting out the suspension.
The 'Jackets got on the board in the first to notch an unearned tally off the Dogs starter. First baseman Francisco Tostado made the first solid contact off Medina of the night, barreling a ball off the wall in right-center for a triple and later scoring on a passed ball by Eduardo Navas.
Reliever Tanner Myatt worked around the bases loaded twice to post two scoreless innings despite walking four and hitting two others. His inside pitch that struck shortstop Orlando Garcia in the seventh cleared the benches in an argument that interrupted the game briefly.
Upcoming
Charleston heads back to Riley Park to start a four-game homestand against the Lexington Legends on Thursday night. Charleston faces the Royals affiliate for just the second time this season after splitting a four-game set in Lexington from May 30-June 2 before the Legends went on an 11-3 run to close out the first-half and overtake the Dogs for the division title. In the opener, the RiverDogs will throw 19-year-old righty Roansy Contreras (6-5, 4.48), who has turned in a quality start each of his last two times out, including yielding three runs over six innings on Friday night in Columbia in his last start.
Catch the game on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area as well as online streaming on the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can "Make Fun" with the RiverDogs all season long down at The Joe. Single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS). A full schedule and list of game times for the 2019 season is available at riverdogs.com.
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