Drive Ride Dominant Pitching to 2-0 Win Over Hub City

Drive Ride Dominant Pitching to 2-0 Win Over Hub City

GREENVILLE, S.C. — In a game where offense was scarce and every baserunner carried weight; the Greenville Drive finally found the one swing they needed Thursday night. Red Sox #5 prospect Juan Valera turned in a gem on the mound while the Drive offense completed the victory.

Isaiah Jackson ripped a two-out, two-run triple in the top of the seventh inning, and three Greenville pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as the Drive blanked the Hub City Spartanburgers 2-0 at Fifth Third Park. The win moved Greenville to 2-4 on the season and gave the Drive a 2-1 edge in the six-game series, while Hub City dropped to 1-4.

The breakthrough came after six innings of tense, scoreless baseball in which both clubs struggled to string together offense.

Greenville managed just three hits all night, but Jackson delivered the biggest one of the game when he drove a ball into right field off Hub City reliever Joe Adametz. Henry Godbout and Yoeilin Cespedes both scored on the play, turning a deadlocked pitchers’ duel into a 2-0 Drive lead.

That was all Greenville’s pitching staff needed.

Valera set the tone with five shutout innings in his start, allowing just two hits while striking out nine and walking one. The right-hander was in command from the outset, striking out the side in the first inning and never allowing Hub City to generate sustained momentum against him.

Valera’s sharpest early moment came in the second after Yeison Morrobel singled with one out. Morrobel tried to take second, but catcher Gerardo Rodriguez threw him out, cutting off Hub City’s first threat before it could develop. Valera followed by striking out Antonis Macias to end the inning.

He continued to cruise from there, retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced. Hub City’s only other hit against him came in the fourth, when Maxton Martin singled to left-center with one out. But Gleider Figuereo was erased on a force play and Malcolm Moore flew out before Arturo Disla grounded out to end the frame.

Greenville had a chance to get on the board first in the fourth.

Justin Gonzales doubled to left field to open the inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Adametz, putting the Drive 90 feet away with no outs. But Adametz escaped, striking out Godbout and Rodriguez before Cespedes lined out to left to preserve the scoreless tie.

The Drive also lost a potential baserunner in the third when Nazzan Zanetello walked and was picked off first before being caught stealing second on the same sequence, one of several missed Greenville opportunities in the first half of the game.

Still, the Drive kept pressure on Hub City’s pitching enough to stay within striking distance.

After J’Briell Easley retired all six hitters he faced in the first two innings for Hub City, Adametz settled in and kept Greenville quiet through the middle innings despite Gonzales’ double and a hit-by-pitch to Jack Winnay in the fifth. But the Drive finally broke through against him in the seventh.

Godbout led off the inning with a single to center. Rodriguez then grounded out, moving Godbout to second. Cespedes followed with a walk, giving Greenville runners at first and second with one out. Winnay then lined out to right, leaving the Drive down to its final out of the inning.

Jackson changed everything.

The Drive center fielder hammered Adametz’s pitch into right field for a triple, easily scoring Godbout and Cespedes for the game’s only runs. It was Jackson’s first triple of the season and gave him two RBIs on the night, both coming with two outs.

Greenville’s bullpen made sure the lead stood.

Joey Gartrell replaced Valera to begin the sixth and worked around Hub City’s most dangerous rally of the night. Luke Hanson singled to open the inning and later stole second. After Moore and Disla each drew walks, the Spartanburgers had the bases loaded with two outs. Gartrell responded by getting Morrobel to fly out to right fielder Gonzales, preserving the scoreless game and setting the stage for Greenville’s seventh-inning breakthrough.

That escape proved to be the pivotal moment of the night.

Gartrell came back with a clean seventh, retiring Macias on a lineout before striking out Hartl and Pollard to finish his two innings. He allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two, earning the win.

Steven Brooks took over for the final two innings and overpowered Hub City’s lineup. The right-hander struck out six of the eight batters he faced, allowing only two walks and no hits. He fanned Martin, Figuereo and Moore in order in the eighth, then struck out Disla and Hartl in the ninth to lock down his first save of the season.

In all, Greenville pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts and held Hub City to 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position. The Spartanburgers finished with seven men left on base and only advanced a runner past second once.

Godbout went 1 for 4 and scored the first run of the game, while Gonzales accounted for Greenville’s only extra-base hit before Jackson’s decisive triple with his fourth-inning double. Cespedes scored once despite going hitless, reaching on a seventh-inning walk that immediately turned into a run.

The Drive did not need much offense on a night when their pitching staff dominated from start to finish.

After being limited to one run in Wednesday’s loss, Greenville responded Thursday by winning a game defined by execution on the mound, a timely two-out swing from Jackson, and a bullpen that slammed the door shut. The Drive will look to take command of the series in game four on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm.