Brito Provides Career Night as Charleston Drops Game Two

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The RiverDogs received a career night from starter Jhony Brito, but their offensive struggles continued in game two of the series, falling 2-1 to the Kannapolis Intimidators Saturday night in front of 4,448 at Riley Park.
Brito (6-4, 3.29) was phenomenal on a night the Dogs (67-64, 30-31) needed a win to stay in the thick of the playoff hunt. Entering the contest four games back of the division-leading Asheville Tourists, Charleston whiffed on an opportunity to take advantage of Asheville's Friday night loss. Even with a late Josh Stowers homer, the RiverDogs have still plated just six runs in their last 43 innings, and have gone four consecutive contests without scoring more than two tallies.
The Charleston righty began the night with perfect first and second frames, striking out three of the first six he faced. The Intimidators' (58-71, 30-31) hurler Sam Long (8-5, 3.06) did the same, albeit without the punchouts, to send the game scoreless to the top of the third inning.
Ramon Beltre led off the frame with a double that the third baseman poked past first baseman Eric Wagaman down the right field line for his 23^rd two-bagger of the season. Michael Hickman, making his first start of the series, lined a fly ball deep enough to right field to allow Beltre to tag up and advance to third. Amado Nunez was next, and he worked ahead in the count 1-0 before lining Brito's next offering out to left field. Beltre again tagged up and came in to score the game's first run. Brito was unfazed by the early tally, inducing a groundout from Ian Dawkins to end the frame.
The tally was all Long needed, as he sailed right through the his next four frames without a hitch. He struck out the side in the fourth, and set down the first 18 Charleston hitters in a row before the Dogs finally mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Brandon Lockridge spoiled Long's attempt at perfection with a flare single that dropped in front of Alex Destino in right field. Oswald Peraza hit a grounder to short on which Kannapolis was able to force Lockridge at second, but Peraza was too quick to be doubled up. The infielder went 0-for-4 Saturday night and saw a 26-game on-base streak snapped. Josh Stowers followed with a bloop single of his own, but Long kept his cool and struck out Josh Breaux and Eric Wagaman with runners on second and third to escape the threat.
After allowing the early marker to Kannapolis, Brito settled back in and allowed just one more hit through his next five innings. The other hit the righty yielded was by Lenyn Sosa leading off the fourth, though he was eventually erased on a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Brito received the handshake that ended his night after completing eight dominant frames, marking a new career-high for the right hander. He faced just one batter over the minimum and struck out a season-high seven hitters. He also turned in his ninth outing of the season without a free pass issued.
Charleston plated their only run of the night in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Stowers stepped to the plate with two outs. He crushed Devon Perez's first offering over the left field scoreboard for his seventh homer of the year. The long ball broke a stretch of 226 plate appearances without a home run for the Louisville product. Josh Breaux followed the blast with an infield single, but Eric Wagaman flew out to center field to end the game.
With the Tourists' contest against Greenville still in progress after the final out, the best Charleston can hope for regarding its playoff hopes is to enter play Sunday still four games back of Asheville.
Ballpark Fun
H.O.P.E. Week continued with 'Play Ball for All' night at Riley Park, presented by the Children's Fine and Performing Arts Foundation. Pregame activities were offered on the concourse geared toward celebrating the creativity and artistic abilities possessed by children with autism. Many organizations, such as the Special Olympics, were also represented before first pitch. Following the conclusion of Saturday night's contest, the second 1,000 t-shirt toss of the season occurred, and those who stayed after the game had the chance to leave with a souvenir to complete their night.

Upcoming
The Dogs wrap up their penultimate homestand of the season with the third game of the series against the Intimidators, looking to avoid the sweep and win their first game of the season at Riley Park against the White Sox affiliate. Harold Cortijo (6-3, 3.49) will lead the charge for the Holy City, and he will don the Sunday pinstripes for the third time this season. Cortijo hasn't faced Kannapolis yet this season, and comes off an outing in which he allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to the Tourists August 17. Kannapolis will counter with Davis Martin (7-9, 5.26), who has yielded seven total runs on 11 hits in back-to-back starts against Charleston in late April.
For those who can't make it to Riley Park, catch the game on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area, 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.
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