Domingo Gonzalez helps Hoppers win pitchers duel

Greensboro wins 2-1 as Gonzalez strikes out three in six scoreless innings

Greensboro Grasshoppers pitcher Domingo Gonzalez. (Kaylen Ayres/contributed photo)

By Jeff Mills

July 2, 2022

HICKORY ― Winning pitcher Domingo Gonzalez struck out three in six scoreless innings, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 2-1 victory over the Hickory Crawdads in a pitchers’ duel at L.P. Frans Stadium on Friday night. Gonzalez (5-2) worked the third through the eighth innings, scattering four hits ― all

HICKORY ― Winning pitcher Domingo Gonzalez struck out three in six scoreless innings, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 2-1 victory over the Hickory Crawdads in a pitchers’ duel at L.P. Frans Stadium on Friday night.

Gonzalez (5-2) worked the third through the eighth innings, scattering four hits ― all singles ― and three walks. He took advantage of a pair of inning-ending double-play grounders, and he pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.

Hard-throwing Oliver Mateo struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his third save.

Abrahan Gutierrez went 2-for-3 with a walk, and his RBI single in the third inning drove home Yoyner Fajardo to break a 1-1 tie.

Dariel Lopez doubled and scored the Hoppers’ first run on a balk.

Greensboro (31-41 overall) moved to 4-3 in the second half, a game behind first-place Brooklyn in the South Atlantic League’s North Division standings.

NOTES

Greensboro is 13-12 in one-run games this season. The Hoppers have won 12 of their last 19 one-run games.
Shortstop Dariel Lopez has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games, going 25-for-74 (.338) with five home runs, four doubles, 15 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He has eight multi-hit games in that span.
Left fielder Endy Rodriguez went 1-for-4. Rodriguez has hit safely in 14 of his last 18 games, going 20-for-60 (.333) with eight doubles, a home run and 11 RBIs. The versatile 22-year-old is rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect, and he has played four positions ― catcher, first base, second base and left field ― this season.
First baseman Jacob Gonzalez went 0-for-4, snapping his on-base streak at 14 consecutive games. Since his promotion from Class-A Bradenton on May 10, Gonzalez has reached base in 31 of 37 games, with 11 multi-hit games. Gonzalez is 42-for-141 (.298) with seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 20 RBIs.
Utility player Ernny Ordoñez went 0-for-4. Since June 1 he has hit safely in 12 of 17 games, with seven home runs, four doubles and 20 RBIs in that span.

In his career at the News & Record, journalist Jeff Mills won 10 national and 12 state writing awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the N.C. Press Association.