p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}HAGERSTOWN, Md. - For the third
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - For the third consecutive night, the Charleston RiverDogs (15-6, 49-42) jumped out to an early lead at Municipal Stadium and rode the best bullpen in the South Atlantic League to victory as the Hagerstown Suns (11-9, 49-40) tallied a season-low two base hits in a 6-0 loss that sealed a road sweep for Charleston.
Weston Davis (Loss, 0-3) made his first start for the Suns since April 15 after a lengthy stay on the Disabled List and gave up five runs in the second inning to Charleston. Brandon Wagner smashed a 432-foot home run out of the ballpark beyond the right center field bullpen to make it 2-0 and Hoy Jun Park added a two-run triple to the gap in right center. Davis left the game after Blake Rutherford made it 5-0 with an RBI single and the final line for the 21-year-old Suns starter from Bradenton, Florida included five earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout in 1 2/3 innings.
6-foot-8-inch Charleston starter Freicer Perez (Win, 6-3) stood tall with 5 1/3 innings of scoreless work, allowing just one hit to Telmito Agustin on a single to left field in the second. Perez walked four but fanned five Suns to keep himself out of trouble.
Suns reliever Hayden Howard matched his longest outing of the season for Hagerstown. The Texas Tech alum gave up a fourth inning double to Chris Hess and an RBI groundout to Park, who led the RiverDogs with a 3-for-5 night at the plate and 3 RBI to finish the three-game series 7-for-12 (.583) against Suns pitching.
Jake Noll took credit for the only Hagerstown extra-base hit on a seventh inning double against Hobie Harris, who combined with Luis Cedeno for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. The RiverDogs bullpen tossed 15 scoreless frames in the series as Charleston improved its league-best winning percentage to .714 since the All-Star Break.
Hagerstown has now lost six of its last seven games and will travel on Saturday to Lexington, Kentucky where a three-city, 10-game road trip begins on Sunday with a doubleheader at 2:05 p.m. Right-handed starter Sterling Sharp (4-6, 3.09) goes to the mound in Game 1 and righty Carlos Pena (4-5, 5.59) will answer the call in Game 2.
The Suns return home for a seven-game homestand at Hagerstown Municipal Stadium beginning Thursday, July 27 at 7:05 p.m. against the West Virginia Power, Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, on Thirsty Thursday with beer prices starting at just two dollars each. For tickets, call (301) 791-6266 or visit hagerstownsuns.com.
