Johnston's Brilliant Start Spoiled in 2-1 Loss

Bridgewater, N.J. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) held the first-place Somerset Patriots (Yankees) scoreless on one hit through seven innings, but the Patriots pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 2-1 victory Tuesday night at TD Bank Ballpark.

The Fisher Cats (7-12) threatened to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning, which started with back-to-back singles by top prospects Austin Martin (3-for-4) and Otto Lopez (2-for-4). Gabriel Moreno hit a sacrifice fly for his 17th RBI to cut the lead in half, but Samad Taylor struck out to end the game.

Fisher Cats starter Kyle Johnston allowed only one hit in his five scoreless innings, a single by Michael Beltre leading off the bottom of the fourth inning. Johnston walked three and struck out four. This was the third consecutive start Johnston made without allowing a run (15.1 IP).

Mike Ellenbest and Connor Law each added a perfect frame for the Fisher Cats. James Dykstra (L, 0-1) took the loss, allowing a pair of RBI singles to Donny Sands and Dermis Garcia.

Somerset’s Janson Junk worked four innings, and JP Sears (W, 2-0) followed with 4.2 innings of strong relief. Greg Weissert (S, 3) recorded the final out to give the Patriots (14-5) a seventh straight win. Somerset pitchers recorded 16 strikeouts in the game without issuing a walk.

The series continues at Somerset on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. The next home game will be Tuesday, June 1, when the Fisher Cats welcome the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NY Mets) to Delta Dental Stadium. Tickets to all remaining home games are available at nhfishercats.com.

All 120 games this season will be broadcast live on the Fisher Cats flagship station, AM 610 WGIR. For media requests, please email Tyler Murray at [email protected].