Perez Deals in Debut but Rome Edges Tourists 4-1 in Lowest Scoring Home Game of the Season
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Wednesday night at HomeTrust Park was a pitchers duel from the first pitch. Unfortunately for Asheville, Rome got the better of it. The Tourists managed just one run on five hits in a 4-1 loss to the Rome Emperors, the lowest scoring home game of the season
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Wednesday night at HomeTrust Park was a pitchers duel from the first pitch. Unfortunately for Asheville, Rome got the better of it.
The Tourists managed just one run on five hits in a 4-1 loss to the Rome Emperors, the lowest scoring home game of the season for Asheville. With the loss, the Tourists now sit 2.5 games out of a playoff spot after Winston-Salem jumped ahead in the race with two upset wins over Greensboro.
The night began with a milestone. Javier Perez, promoted from Single-A Fayetteville where he was the Woodpeckers' workhorse, striking out 103 batters over 89 innings. He struck out Luis Guanipa, his first batter faced at HomeTrust Park, to reach 200 career strikeouts and begin the ballgame. The moment set the tone for what was an impressive debut. Perez finished with 4.1 innings, two runs allowed, and seven strikeouts, giving the Tourists every chance to win.
Luke Sinnard was even better on the other side. The Rome starter was lights out, going four scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and two baserunners total with four strikeouts. Asheville simply had no answer for him.
Rome broke through in the second. With two outs, Colby Jones doubled, Colin Burgess singled to score him, and Luis Guanipa doubled off the wall to plate one more. 2-0 Emperors.
Asheville finally got to Rome reliever David Rodriguez in the fifth. Back to back singles set the table, and though Freuddy Batista bounced into a double play that killed the momentum, it did score Zach Daudet from third to cut the deficit to 2-1. DJ Newman singled in the same inning, accounting for three of Asheville's five hits in one frame.
Max Martin followed Perez with 1.2 scoreless innings before Andrew Marrero entered in the seventh. Dixon Williams led off by drilling a ball to right field. Anthony Huezo leaped to grab it, the ball bounced off his glove toward the wall, and he reached back and made the catch. But the umpiring crew, without a clear angle, believed Huezo had let the ball hit the wall before collecting it. Williams took advantage of the confusion and raced into third with a leadoff triple. Huezo held his hands up in disbelief as manager Nate Shaver charged out of the dugout. The umpires conferred but without the benefit of replay, the call stood. Williams scored on a Marrero wild pitch to make it 3-1. Logan Braunschweig added an RBI single in the eighth to set the final at 4-1.
It was a quiet night all around for the Tourists offense, matching their lowest run total since being shut out by Greenville in late June.
Asheville and Rome meet again Thursday night at HomeTrust Park. Adam Shoemaker takes the ball for the Tourists against Rome's Zach Royse. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.