(August 26, 2019 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution scored six times in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extras and stunned the Sugar Land Skeeters with an 8-7 walk-off win on Welington Dotel’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th on Monday night at PeoplesBank Park. The win improves the Revs’ second half record to 26-18, increasing their first place lead to two games over the Skeeters as the four-game series continues on Tuesday evening.
Right-hander Dan Minor took the mound for his 20th start of the season. Skeeters center fielder Rico Noel walked to begin the game and promptly stole second and third. After Minor battled back to get the next two Sugar Land batters to pop up, Zach Borenstein lined an RBI single to left to give the Skeeters a 1-0 lead.
The Revs offense fought back to tie things in their half of the first. Telvin Nash smashed a two-out double deep off of the batter’s eye in center and advanced to third on a Carlos Pimentel wild pitch. Isaias Tejeda grounded a ball up the middle that was misplayed by Anthony Giansanti, allowing Nash to score on the error and York to tie the game at 1-1.
Momentum shifted in a huge way towards Sugar Land in the top of the second as they took the 2-1 lead on a Giansanti solo home run to left. After Pimentel kept the Revs off of the board in the second and third, the Skeeters added two runs on a Giansanti sacrifice fly and a Revs throwing error, making it 4-1 after the fourth.
Pimentel continued his dominant day as he struck out the side in order in the bottom of the fifth inning and a 1-2-3 sixth inning, limiting the Revs to one unearned run on one hit in six innings while striking out 10 batters.
Wynton Bernard extended the Skeeters’ lead to 6-1 with a two-run home run to left in the top of the seventh. Sugar Land scored again in the top of the eighth courtesy of a Giansanti RBI single extending their lead to 7-1.
Having been limited to one hit while striking out 16 times through the first eight innings, York enjoyed a record-breaking bottom of the ninth inning off of former Revs right-hander Ricardo Gomez.
Carlos Franco led off the inning with a single up the middle. Melky Mesa followed with a walk and Angelys Nina singled to left to load the bases with no outs. The Revs scored their first two runs of the inning when first baseman Denis Phipps let a Ryan Dent grounder slip through his legs for an error, cutting the lead to 7-3. James Skelton drew a walk to fill the bags and Justin Trapp took a bases loaded walk to make it 7-4. Dotel drove in Dent on an infield single to third and Skelton came around when a rushed throw from Blair Beck sailed wide of Phipps, making it a one-run game at 7-6. After Gomez finally got his first out of the inning, Tejeda walked to load the bases for the second time in the inning. Franco lofted a sacrifice fly toward the left field corner to score Trapp and tie the game at 7-7. Gomez got Mesa to pop up to end the inning and force extras on his 55th pitch out of the night.
Revs All-Star closer Jameson McGrane got the call in the top of the 10th. After Beck advanced base runner Juan Silverio to third on a sacrifice bunt, McGrane struck out Giansanti and Noel to end the inning keeping the game tied.
Alvaro Rondon entered the game as a pinch runner at second base representing the winning run for the Revs in the bottom of the 10th. Nina dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Rondon to third. Dent and Skelton were intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Skeeters left hander Matt Purke (3-8) forced Trapp to pop out for the second out of the inning but Dotel stepped up and drilled the game-winning RBI single down the right field line, giving York a huge 1-0 series lead and the largest comeback in the ninth inning or later in team history.
Recap by Brett Pietrzak
Notes: The walk-off win is the Revs’ second of the season, both in 10 innings against Sugar Land (June 18). It is Dotel’s first walk-off hit of his York career. The Revs were 0-43 when trailing after eight innings heading into play on Sunday and have won back-to-back games with ninth inning comebacks; York has scored six runs in the ninth inning in both games. York improves to 3-7 in extra innings with their first extra inning win since the June 18 victory against the Skeeters. The six-run comeback matches a season-high (July 26 vs. New Britain) and comes within one of the biggest comeback win in any game in franchise history. The Revs’ previous largest comeback win in the ninth inning or later was from down five in a 9-7 win at Bridgeport on May 31, 2016; the previous largest at home was from down four in an 8-7 win vs. Somerset on May 4, 2011. York righty Duke von Schamann (7-4, 3.39) faces Sugar Land right-hander Troy Scribner (4-5, 3.61) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. It is a WellSpan Sports Medicine Silver Slugger Tuesday and is YMCA Member Appreciation Night presented by YMCA of York and York County. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Revs Ticket Office.
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