Jacob Gonzalez has 4 RBIs in Hoppers debut

HICKORY ― Jacob Gonzalez made his debut with the Grasshoppers a game to remember.

Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, four RBIs and a walk, leading Greensboro to a 6-4 victory over the Hickory Crawdads at L.P. Frans Stadium on Tuesday night.

Gonzalez, a 23-year-old corner infielder, is the son of five-time Major League All-Star Luis Gonzalez. He was promoted to Greensboro from Class-A Bradenton, replacing Henry Davis on the Hoppers' roster. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, was promoted to Class-AA Altoona on Sunday.

Gonzalez batted .393 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 16 RBIs in 24 games for the Marauders before his promotion. He was a second-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2017, turning pro right out of high school, and he has batted .261 in 393 minor-league games.

He started at first base in his Hoppers debut, with Endy Rodriguez taking over for Davis as the first-string catcher.

Rodriguez, a 21-year-old rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect, has played four positions ― catcher, first base, second base and left field ― so far this season. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Tuesday.

Hudson Head went 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to six games. The 21-year-old outfielder, rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 22 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, has reached base in 11 of his last 12 games.

Right-hander Wandi Montout (1-1) picked up the win in relief, striking out three in three scoreless innings. Four Hoppers relievers allowed just one run over the final six innings, combining for nine strikeouts.

Left-hander Tyler Samaniego retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning, lowering his ERA to 0.79 and earning his first save of the season.

NOTES

• Center fielder Matt Gorski went 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk and run scored. Gorski is batting .271, and he leads the South Atlantic League with 24 runs scored. Gorski ranks second in the league with 23 RBIs and third with eight home runs. Gorski also leads the Hoppers in stolen bases (9). He has been on base in 24 of 26 games played so far this season.
• The Hoppers went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
• Corner outfielder Jack Herman hit an RBI single in the eighth inning, and he has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games.
• Yoyner Fajardo, who got the night off, is 15-for-42 and leads the team lead with a .357 batting average, but he does not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders. Fajardo has hit safely in nine of 11 games played, with six multi-hit games.