Hoppers lose, but break 20-inning scoring drought

GREENSBORO ― The sense of relief when Fabricio Macias' line drive settled into the grass in front of the left fielder felt like a cool breeze on this stifling hot Wednesday afternoon at First National Bank Field.

Endy Rodriguez raced home from second base and scored without a throw. By then, it was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Greensboro Grasshoppers trailed the Wilmington Blue Rocks 9-0 on the way to a 10-4 loss.

But a run's a run, and precious runs have been hard to come by lately.

Macias' RBI single snapped a string of 20 consecutive scoreless innings for the Hoppers dating back to the fourth inning of Sunday's loss in Asheville.

Wilmington's Omar Meregildo went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, and Onix Vega hit a three-run home run for the Blue Rocks (23-21).

Greensboro (20-25) has lost four in a row and five of its last six. The Hoppers have been shut out twice in that stretch, averaging just 2.5 runs per game.

Ernny Ordonez hit his fourth home run of the season to lead Greensboro's offense Wednesday, a three-run shot over the left-field fence two batters after Macias' run-scoring single.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4, and Macias was 1-for-2 with two walks

Losing pitcher Adrian Florencio (1-7) gave up five earned runs in three innings. The Hoppers' pitching staff got a lift from the return of Oliver Mateo, who struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. Mateo, who features a 98 mph fastball, hadn't pitched since April, but was activated when closer Tyler Samaniego was promoted to Class-AA Altoona on Monday.

Wilmington starter Tim Cate retired the first 10 Hoppers he faced before Dariel Lopez hit a clean single up the middle. Cate came out of the game after striking out five in four scoreless innings, and left-hander Luis Avilan (1-0) picked up the win with two more scoreless innings of relief.

NOTES

• Outfielder Fabricio Macias, who played for the Hoppers in 2019 and 2021, was sent to Greensboro on an injury rehab assignment last week. He's 6-for-20 (.300) with two doubles and four RBIs in six games since rejoining the Hoppers. ... Monday was the one-year anniversary of the game in which Macias hit two grand slams for the Hoppers.
• Endy Rodriguez has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. The switch-hitting Rodgriguez batted .296 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 21 games in May. He's 22-for-68 (.324) since moving into the No. 3 slot in Greensboro's batting order. ... Rodriguez started at catcher Wednesday. The versatile 21-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 1-for-4 with a run scored Wednesday. He has been one of the South Atlantic League's best players since his promotion from Class-A Bradenton on May 10. He has hit safely in 14 of 17 games since then, with seven multi-hit games. Gonzalez is 24-for-63 (.381) with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
• Hudson Head, a 21-year-old outfielder rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 22 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, went 1-for-4. Head has hits in 15 of his last 17 games. He has reached base in 24 of his last 27 games.