Jones and Dreiling Grand Slams Propel Hub City to 16-8 Win
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Through four games this week between Hub City and Greenville, the two teams combined for 25 runs. Saturday afternoon, the Spartanburgers and Drive combined for 24; Hub City outslugged Greenville on the way to a 16-8 win. Keith Jones bombed the first grand slam in Spartanburgers history,
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Through four games this week between Hub City and Greenville, the two teams combined for 25 runs. Saturday afternoon, the Spartanburgers and Drive combined for 24; Hub City outslugged Greenville on the way to a 16-8 win. Keith Jones bombed the first grand slam in Spartanburgers history, and Dylan Dreiling added a second just three innings later.
Five Spartanburgers pitchers teamed up to secure the victory. Starter D.J. McCarty lasted 2 2/3 innings before he was lifted from the game. Right-hander Josh Mollerus (W, 1-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless and was the pitcher of record when Hub City bashed seven runs in the third. Joey Danielson went 2 innings and allowed one run, Larson Kindreich posted two zeros and Seth Clark rounded out the ballgame.
Greenville started the scoring in the top of the first against McCarty. Nazzan Zanetello walked with one out and stole second. Two batters later, Zach Ehrhard singled home Zanetello for the first run of the inning.
Hub City responded in the bottom half. Walks to Dylan Dreiling and Keith Jones along with an Arturo Disla single loaded the bases. Casey Cook grounded out to first, scoring Dreiling to tie the game. The Spartanburgers took the lead the next inning when Gleider Figuereo opened the second inning with his first home run of the season.
The Drive answered in the top of the third. With the top of the lineup beginning the inning at the plate, McCarty hit Yophery Rodriguez and walked Zanetello. Nelly Taylor singled home the tying run and then stole second. Ehrhard came up clutch again for the drive with a two-run base hit. He would eventually come around to score a few batters later and give Greenville a 5-2 lead.
The Spartanburgers bats went back to work down three in the third. Against Greenville’s first reliever, Darvin Garcia (L, 0-1), Hub City loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a walk. Garcia hit Julian Brock and Theo Hardy in consecutive at bats to trim the Drive lead to one. After Dreiling flied out to right, Anthony Gutierrez forced home the tying run with a two-out walk. That brought Jones to the plate, and the lefty ambushed a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall for the first Hub City grand slam of the season.
Mollerus lifted Hub City on the pitching side with four outs to reach the fifth. Danielson surrendered a lone Greenville run in the fifth before tossing a one-two-three sixth.
After leaving the bases loaded in the fifth, Hub City made sure to not repeat history an inning later. Greenville’s Cooper Adams filled the bases in the sixth with no outs on two walks and a hit batter. After two straight strikeouts, Dreiling matched Jones with his second home run — a grand slam to clear the bases. Kindreich carried the momentum to scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth.
After Hub City cashed in for one more run in the seventh thanks to a Figuereo RBI double, the Spartanburgers added two more for good measure in the eighth against with outfielder Albert Feliz on the mount for Greenville. The Drive tagged Clark for two in the top of the ninth before he recorded the final out with a 12th strikeout of the day for the Hub City staff.
The win marks the first-ever six-game series victory for the Spartanburgers. Hub City has won four of the first five games of the I-85 rivalry. The Spartanburgers and Drive finish their six-game series at Fifth Third Park Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. ET. Jose Gonzalez (0-1, 1.59 ERA) gets the ball for Hub City against Greenville’s Payton Tolle (0-1, 11.12 ERA).
About the Hub City Spartanburgers
The Hub City Spartanburgers, the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, embark on their inaugural season in April 2025. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-658-4206 or email: tickets@hcspartanburgers.com For media inquiries, email: iunsworth@hcspartanburgers.com. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.
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