RiverDogs Pitching Stifles Braves in Road Trip Finale

ROME, GA. - Right-hander Daniel Bies ran his scoreless innings streak to 11 straight, backing a second straight quality start from Harold Cortijo as RiverDogs pitching stifled the Braves for a 3-1 win in Wednesday afternoon's rubber match from State Mutual Stadium.
Bies didn't allow a hit over the final three innings in relief, needing just to work around a pair of walks and two errors in the field behind him to finish off his third save in four appearances since returning to the bullpen. Over the 11-inning scoreless stretch, the Gonzaga product has struck out 14 with four walks and just four hits allowed. Bies now touts a 66:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season.
The 6'8" righty's efforts backed another solid effort from Cortijo (3-0), who worked around traffic all afternoon to finish his second straight start going six innings in just a run allowed, recording an identical line to his start last Thursday in Hickory, including three strikeouts, two walks and four hits allowed. After allowing a run to score on a double and an RBI ground out in the first, he went on to strand four baserunners the rest of the way, all of them in scoring position.
Charleston (40-37, 3-4) backed their starter to erase the 1-0 deficit in the second, taking advantage of an extra opportunity provided by the Braves (33-43, 3-4) defense. First baseman Max Burt rolled a 2-2 pitch out to first for a tailor-made double play ball that Greg Cullen bobbled on the transfer from second, allowing Burt to reach and extending the inning. Second baseman Kyle Gray stepped up and worked a 3-1 count before hammering a double off the track in right-center, scoring Burt to tie the game. Shortstop Welfrin Mateo stroked the next pitch into left field to give the RiverDogs a 2-1 advantage.
Gray would add his second hit in the sixth, singling to lead off the inning, and scored on a Matt Pita sac fly. The second baseman's afternoon marked his third straight game with multiple hits. The former West Virginia Mountaineer finished the series in Rome 6-for-13 with three extra-base hits.
The victory marked Charleston's third win of the weeklong road trip to start the second-half. When Rome plated a run on Griffin Benson's ground ball in the first, it marked the sixth straight game in which Charleston's opponent scored first.

Upcoming
The RiverDogs return home Thursday night to start a seven-day homestand, beginning with a four-game tilt against the Asheville Tourists. The Tourists come into town after splitting a four-game set with the Dogs in their last visit to the Lowcountry from June 6-9; the Rockies farm club took the first two series of the year at McCormick Field and own a 7-4 record against the Dogs this season.
Charleston will send right-hander Luis Medina (1-5, 7.76) in the opener; the 20-year-old had produced his two best starts of the season allowing two earned runs over 11.0 innings of work before yielding six over five frames last Friday in Hickory. The Tourists will counter with left-hander Alfredo Garcia (1-7, 7.36); the 19-year-old southpaw's 87 strikeouts ranked tied-fourth in the SAL circuit entering play Wednesday. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. on a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday at The Joe, featuring dollar beers in the Ashley View Pub.
For those that can't make it out to the ballpark, catch the game on WTMA 1250 AM, online streaming on the TuneIn Radio app and on MiLB.tv with a subscription. 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 are available at riverdogs.com.
--RIVERDOGS--