(July 25, 2021 – York, Pa.): Nellie Rodriguez crushed a three-run home run to center field but the York Revolution dropped its Sunday series finale to the Long Island Ducks, 12-4 at PeoplesBank Park. The Revs suffer a weekend sweep after winning their previous two games and their previous series, while the Ducks have now won 12 consecutive games and are a win away from a North Division first half title. The Revs’ homestand continues Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against the Lexington Legends.
Long Island scored eight times in the first four innings as they set the tone early on Sunday afternoon.
In the first, Ramon Flores worked a leadoff walk and stole second. With two outs, Deibinson Romero launched a home run to left center for a 2-0 lead.
Leading off the second, Jesse Berardi and Juan De La Cruz reached on a walk and base hit, respectively. Johnni Turbo brought home Berardi with a sac fly to left to make it 3-0.
The Ducks got their most consistent contact against Revs starter Bruce Bell in the third with four consecutive hits. Steve Lombardozzi hit a leadoff double to right before being scored by Lew Ford on his RBI double to right-center. With runners at the corners, Ford scored on a base hit to center from Ryan Jackson. Turbo finished off the inning on an RBI fielder’s choice as the lead swelled to 6-0.
Romero struck again with an RBI double in the fourth chasing Bell (0-3) after 3.1 innings, and Lombardozzi scored on a wild pitch for an 8-0 lead.
York came alive in the sixth with three runs on four hits. The first two batters reached as Osmy Gregorio and Melky Mesa got on with back-to-back singles. Those hits set the stage for Rodriguez’ three-run home run over the batter’s eye in center to cut Long Island’s lead to 8-3.
Long Island answered with back-to-back solo home runs in the eighth as Lombardozzi homered to right followed by Ford’s home run to left-center.
In their eighth, York responded with one run cutting it to 10-4 as JC Encarnacion (3-for-4) drove in Rodriguez (double to deep center) on a line drive single to left.
Flores and Lombardozzi added on to Long Island’s lead in the ninth. After stealing second base up by six runs, Turbo scored on a ground out from Flores and Lombardozzi homered to right for his second of the game, building the lead to its final margin of 12-4.
Following the Brooks Robinson Golf Classic on Monday, the Revs are back in action at PeoplesBank Park on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to welcome the Lexington Legends for three games. Duke von Schamann (3-4) makes the start for York. Tuesday is Social Media Night at PeoplesBank Park. Tickets are available at yorkrevolution.com, 717-801-HITS, or in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: The Revs allowed back-to-back homers for just the second time all season; Lancaster hit three consecutive homers against York on June 6. The multi-homer game for Lombardozzi is the fourth against the Revs this season and first since June 16 (Blake Allemand, Lancaster). Lombardozzi has hit three home runs against the Revs over the last two Sundays. The Revs have been swept by the Ducks on back-to-back weekends after winning four of the first six meetings of the season; the six-game losing streak is the longest the Revs have suffered against the Ducks in series history. The two teams have finished a stretch on which they met nine times in 15 games including three consecutive weekends, and won’t meet again until late August in Central Islip, NY. York’s bullpen had put together a 14.2-inning streak without allowing an earned run until the eighth inning in Sunday’s game. Edward Paredes worked his fourth straight scoreless outing and Isaac Sanchez handled his fifth straight. Long Island’s two-run first marked the fourth consecutive game the Revs allowed multiple runs in the first inning (15 in those four games, 13 in three-game series vs. Long Island). York has allowed at least one first inning run in five of the six losses to the Ducks the last two weekends. Gregorio has hit safely in four straight including three consecutive multi-hit games. Harris extended his on-base streak to 11 games in-a-row. Rodriguez has hit safely in 10 straight and homered for the second time in four games; he now has 26 RBI in 25 games with at least one RBI in six of his last seven while raising his average to .400 for the season.