Hernandez, Plassmeyer cut down Cardinals 2-0

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (May 24, 2019) - Ronaldo Hernandez delivered a two-run homer Friday, while Michael Plassmeyer and the pitching staff did the rest to lead the Charlotte Stone Crabs to a 2-0 shutout of the Palm Beach Cardinals at Charlotte Sports Park.
Plassmeyer (2-0) and reliever Ryan Thompson combined on a four-hit shutout to even the series with first-place Palm Beach (29-18).
Plassmeyer needed just 93 pitches to complete seven scoreless innings, surrendering just three hits while striking out two. Thompson put up the final two zeroes, allowing just one hit to earn his first save.
Both runs in Friday's game came on the same swing. In a scoreless game in the bottom of the sixth, Charlotte (26-22) center fielder Thomas Milone lined a two-out single to center. The next batter was Hernandez, who launched a two-run homer to left to give the Stone Crabs a 2-0 advantage.
The Stone Crabs are now 11-4 in their last 15 games, hitting for much more power during this recent run. After averaging just 0.4 homers and 2.0 extra-base hits per game through their first 35 contests, Charlotte has produced 1.4 and 3.2 respectively over the last 12.
A win Saturday would pull the Stone Crabs to within 2.5 games of first place, the closest they've been since April 10.
Joe Ryan (1-1, 5.00) will make the start for Charlotte, against Edgar Gonzalez (3-6, 3.18) of Palm Beach. Coverage of the game begins at 5:45 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.