(August 18, 2022 – York, Pa.): Melky Mesa crushed a three-run home run and threw out the potential tying run at home plate in the eighth inning as the York Revolution completed a sweep of the Lancaster Barnstormers with a 5-4 win at PeoplesBank Park on Thursday night, the 1,000th victory in franchise history.
The Revs become the fifth team in Atlantic League history to reach the 1,000-win mark, while the victory is the 597th as Revolution manager for Mark Mason (fourth-most in league history) as another major milestone looms on the horizon.
The sweep is the second of the season for the Revs and their first at home vs. the Barnstormers since a five-game sweep on Memorial Day weekend, 2014.
The Revs avoid potentially handing over the Community Cup on their home turf, improving to 13-16 head-to-head against the Barnstormers with three games remaining this year between the teams.
Lancaster scored the first run of the game in all three games of the series, doing so in the second inning on Thursday when Ariel Sandoval drove a solo homer to right center field, his third of the season to put his team ahead 1-0 and extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
York answered back on a bloop double in the second inning by Jhon Nunez which scored Yefri Perez, who had reached on a single and advanced on a second base. The hit fell in shallow left field, with shortstop Jake Hoover unable to make the sprawling attempt.
Lancaster took the lead back in a unique way in the third inning. With Melvin Mercedes at second, Trayvon Robinson hit a fly ball to deep center field which Connor Lien tracked down. Manager Ross Peeples stayed aggressive with his sends from the third base coach’s box, waving Mercedes to the plate on the tagging attempt, but Mercedes lost his footing rounding third. The throw from home to third by Nunez sailed into left field, however, allowing Mercedes to cross for a 2-1 Lancaster lead.
Telvin Nash and Nellie Rodriguez both walked to start the bottom of the third, and Mesa unloaded on yet another home run, his 13th of the season, second in as many nights, and 71st of his Revs career (second-most all-time). The three-run homer to left brought his Revs career total to 303 RBI, nine shy of the franchise record held by Andres Perez, as the Revs grabbed a 4-2 lead.
Lancaster got a run back in the fifth as Andretty Cordero ambushed a first pitch changeup from Revs starter Eduardo Rivera, driving it over the Arch Nemesis in left to make it a 4-3 game. It was the ALPB hit leader’s 13th longball of the season, and 94th run driven in.
York answered in the bottom of the frame as Nash started the inning with a double down the third base line and scored on a two out double down the right field line by Perez, who was gunned down trying to earn a triple, but not before making it a 5-3 score.
The Barnstormers threatened in the sixth, chasing Rivera (6-3) who gave way to Kyle Zurak with two on and one out. Zurak faced the top of the order, getting a strikeout and a flyout to escape the jam. He ended up retiring five straight with a 1-2-3 seventh, giving him four scoreless appearances to begin his Revs career.
With Tuck Tucker on the mound in the eighth, Lancaster had Mercedes at the plate with two in scoring position and two away. Mercedes pulled a base hit into left field, scoring the lead runner Dondrei Hubbard, with the trailing runner Trace Loehr being sent. For the second straight night, however, Mesa gunned down a man at the plate, this time preserving a one-run lead in dramatic fashion. Mesa hosed a runner in each game of the series, bringing his all-time Revs career total to 30 outfield assists, moving past James Shanks and now sitting alone in second in franchise history, trailing only Scott Grimes with 32.
Closer Jim Fuller allowed two hits in the ninth but got Hubbard to fly out to center field to close down his 14th save of the season, record 43rd of his Revs career, the sweep, and win number 1,000 all-time for the Revs.
It marked the first time the Revs have swept the Barnstormers in any venue since a road sweep last September.
York will start the second half of their 12-game homestand on Friday while looking to build on a current three-game win streak when they host the Long Island Ducks at 6:30 p.m. with lefty Ben Herrick set to make his Revs debut. The night features an appearance by the ZOOperstars! Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
