Preview: Walking, running, and Rogers

Today's Preview: The Grasshoppers (A, Marlins) face the Intimidators (A, White Sox) in the second game of this 3-game series at First National Bank Field after taking the opener, 6-2, on Wednesday night. Greensboro is 8-3 against Kannapolis this season as the two teams have now reached the mid-point of the 21-game season series against the in-state rival. This is the final set between the two teams in Greensboro with two series still to come at Kannapolis (Aug. 2-5 and Aug. 18-21). Today the Grasshoppers send Trevor Rogers to the mound against Drew Harrington, a former Atlanta Braves third round pick in 2016 who pitched for the Rome Braves in the SAL earlier this season before being released by Atlanta and signed by Chicago on June 18.
Hoppers Hurlers: Trevor Rogers, 20, makes his ninth career start and fourth against Kannapolis as the left-hander sees this familiar foe for the third time in his last five outings. He is 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA (11 ER/10.1 IP) and 13 strikeouts compared to five walks in three games (three starts) against the Intimidators, who are batting .370 (17-46) against him. Rogers has nearly identical numbers at home and on the road, going 0-1 with a 7.63 ERA (13 ER/15.1 IP) and 15 strikeouts at First National Bank Field versus 0-2 with a 7.63 ERA (13 ER/15.1 IP) and 17 strikeouts in his four road starts. Rogers set his career-high of six strikeouts in 3.1 innings on June 7 against Delmarva. The Marlins selected Rogers in the first round (13th overall) in the June 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Carlsbad (N.M.) High School. The 6'6" left-hander signed with Miami following a High-School All-American First Team season in 2017. He entered the season as Miami's No. 5 Prospect according to MLB.com. In his final season at Carlsbad High, he went 11-0 with a 0.33 ERA, 134 strikeouts and 13 walks while throwing three no-hitters.
About Last Night: The Grasshoppers turned the base paths into their personal playground in a 6-2 win over the Intimidators on Wednesday. Greensboro drew a season-high 10 walks and stole a season-best seven bases while scoring six unanswered runs. Starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (4-6) struck out seven batters over 5.0 innings, working around two runs on six hits and a walk to earn the win. Relievers Ryan McKay, Gabriel Castellanos, and Jeremy Ovalle combined for 4.0 scoreless innings to close the game with Ovalle earning the save (1). Intimidators' arm Zach Lewis (2-3) walked seven batters, the most by an individual pitcher against the Grasshoppers in 2018, over 4.1 innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out three in a loss. Kannapolis built a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Tate Blackman belted a 2-run home run (10) to center field. Two innings later, Greensboro got even. In the home half of the third, Michael Hernandez led off the frame with a double, and Thomas Jones drew a 1-out walk to put men on the corners. Jose Devers followed with an RBI-single to cash Hernandez, but Kannapolis right-fielder Tyler Frost threw out Jones trying to go first-to-third on the play. Tristan Pompey walked to bump Devers into scoring position, and Isael Soto tied the game, 2-2, with a run-scoring single through the right side of the diamond. The Grasshoppers broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of an Intimidators error to plate to go-ahead run. In the bottom of the sixth, Greensboro added to its lead with a pair of runs when Soto laced a 2-run single to center field, scoring Garvis Lara and Jones for a 5-2 lead.
Thieves in the Night: Greensboro swiped a season-best seven bases on Wednesday night in the series opener against Kannapolis, two more than the team's previous season-high. The Hoppers stole five on June 11 against Hickory. Six different players stole at least one base with Ricardo Cespedes becoming the sixth Grasshoppers with two stolen bases in a game this season and the first since Garvis Lara and Thomas Jones each stole two bags on June 25 against Kannapolis. In total, Greensboro successfully stole seven bases in nine chances.
Base on Balls for Brown: Micah Brown drew a team-best three walks in Wednesday's win over the Intimidators, matching the most by a Grasshoppers batter in a game this season. On April 29, Aaron Knapp drew three walks in an extra-inning game at Asheville.
Turning Two, Four Times: The Grasshoppers matched the team's high watermark for double plays in Wednesday's win over the Intimidators with four twin-killings in the 6-2 victory. All four double plays came in their own unique style. First baseman Micah Brown started a 3-6-3 double play with Jose Devers returning fire in the second inning. The Hoppers turned a traditional 5-4-3 from Marcos Rivera to Garvis Lara to Brown as well as 4-3 two-ball from Lara to Brown. The most unusual double play came in the form of batters interference on a strikeout that obstructed catcher Michael Hernandez's throw to try to pick off a runner at second base. The batter and base runner were both ruled out on the play. The only other 4-double play game Greensboro posted this season came May 3 vs. Hagerstown.
Walk This Way: Kannapolis issued 10 walks to Greensboro on Wednesday, giving the Grasshoppers their most free passes in a game this season. The Hoppers previous high came on April 11 when they drew seven walks at home against Augusta, including six by GreenJackets starting pitcher Garrett Cave. On Wednesday, Intimidators starting pitcher Zach Lewis walked seven batters over 4.1 innings to set a new single-game high by a Hoppers opposing pitcher this season.