Will Matthiessen's 3 RBIs lead Hoppers to 3rd straight I-40 win

WINSTON-SALEM ― Will Matthiessen drove in three runs, Jared Triolo hit a home run and newcomer Henry Davis tripled in his Greensboro debut, leading the Grasshoppers to a 5-4 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash on Thursday at Truist Stadium.

Matthiessen drew a bases-loaded walk to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, and then he hit a two-run double in his next at-bat to extend Greensboro's lead.

The Hoppers (55-32) improved to 14-7 head-to-head against the Dash (33-53) in the "Battle of I-40" season series. Three games remain in the renewed rivalry between the neighboring cities. This is the first summer since 1968 that teams from Greensboro and Winston-Salem have played in the same league in the minors.

Greensboro remained tied with the Hudson Valley Renegades (55-32) for the second-best record in the High-A East with 33 games left in the regular season. The top two teams in the league, regardless of division, qualify for a best-of-five championship series.

Right-hander Domingo Gonzalez (1-1, 6.75 ERA) won in his third start for Greensboro since being promoted from the Class-A Bradenton Marauders. Gonzalez allowed two earned runs and struck out six in six innings.

Right-handed reliever Will Kobos picked up his fourth save and lowered his ERA to 2.27 by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, striking out two.

Triolo hit his 11th home run of the season to cut Winston-Salem's lead to 2-1, and Yoyner Farjardo tied the score with an RBI single.

Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, was promoted to Greensboro earlier in the day and tripled in his first plate appearance with the Hoppers. Davis, a catcher who debuted as the designated hitter, was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch the hit into an inside-the-park home run.

Notes

• Greensboro remains in second place, seven games behind Bowling Green (62-25) in the High-A East's South Division. The top two teams in the league ― regardless of division ― qualify for the best-of-five championship series. The Grasshoppers and North Division leader Hudson Valley are tied and both chasing the second postseason spot. The Hoppers and Renegades play 12 head-to-head games in the final 20 days of the season.
• Greensboro has won 14 of its last 19 games and is 27-10 since July 1. The Hoppers have won or split all 15 of their six-game series this season.
• Jared Triolo has hit safely in 30 of his last 32 games, batting .353 (47-for-133) with seven doubles, six home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in that span. He ranks third in the High-A East with 61 RBIs, and he has raised his batting average from .237 on June 1 to .300 through Aug. 12, third-best in the league among players with enough plate appearances to qualify.
• Lefty-hitting catcher Blake Sabol went 2-for-5 with a double, and he has hit safely in 17 of his last 21 games, going 28-for-78 (.359) with five home runs, six doubles and a triple during that span.
• Nick Gonzales, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft and rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's top prospect, has batted .325 (25-for-77) with four home runs and five doubles in his last 18 games, raising his season batting average to .273.
• Liover Peguero, a shortstop rated by MLB Pipeline as the Pirates' No. 4 prospect, sat out his third consecutive game after leaving Sunday's matinee in the fifth inning with heat illness symptoms.