(May 13, 2022 – Lancaster, Pa.): The York Revolution used a great six innings from starter Jorge Martinez and paired it with a big night from the offense, picking up the win in their series opener against the Lancaster Barnstormers, 8-3 on Friday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Coming off of a sweep at Staten Island, the Revs snapped a three-game skid, notched their first win against the Barnstormers this year, and their first series opening win since the season opener at Long Island.
Lancaster struck early with three hits in the first inning, including two infield knocks and an RBI single from Andretty Cordero to put the Barnstormers ahead 1-0.
Both Nile Ball and Martinez traded zeroes from the second through the fifth innings before the Revs finally broke out in the sixth.
York had stranded runners in scoring position with only one out in both the fourth and fifth innings, but in the sixth, the big outburst started with two outs. Melky Mesa dug in with nobody on and two away and doubled to the deepest part of the ballpark in left-center. After a Nellie Rodriguez walk, Lancaster held a mound visit with lefty reliever Tommy Shirley readying in the bullpen, but elected to leave Ball in to face Carlos Franco. The power-hitting third baseman made them pay, hitting a laser out to right field for a game-changing three-run homer that put the Revs on top 3-1. The extra-base hits kept coming, as Jack Kenley drove a double to the left field corner and JC Encarnacion scored Kenley with an RBI double to left-center. Lenin Rodriguez followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to the short porch in right field, making it 6-1.
Back out for the sixth, Martinez (1-2) allowed a one-out base hit but ended the inning with his eighth strikeout, capping his night after six innings of one run ball.
Josh Martin got the ball for the seventh, and despite a leadoff single that ultimately reached third base, was able to get out of the inning unscathed with a ground out off the bat of Cordero. Adrian Almeida also stranded two runners in a scoreless eighth inning.
York got two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, courtesy of an Elmer Reyes single to center and a Mesa RBI double off the right field wall.
Alberto Rodriguez allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth on a single to left by Cordero, but that was quickly forgotten when a pop up to Franco turned into a game-ending double play as Cordero strayed all the way to second base before being doubled off.
York will turn to Eduardo Rivera on Saturday to oppose Cam Gann, looking for the first series win of the year and the first set of back-to-back victories. The game will get underway from Clipper Magazine Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and the WOYK YouTube channel beginning at 6:10 p.m. with Darrell Henry and Jake Ness on the call.
Notes: Mesa’s two doubles move him past Telvin Nash for fifth in Revs history with 78 in his York career; his next will tie Eric Patterson for fourth. Nellie Rodriguez became the 11th player in franchise history to draw four walks in a game, tying a Revs single-game record. Franco has hit seven home runs and now has 24 RBI in just 19 games played this season; he now has 33 home runs in his Revs career, five shy of cracking the top 10. Lenin Rodriguez’ homer was his first of the season, second of his Revs career, and eighth of his pro career. Martinez picks up the 15th win of his Revs career and first since 2016; his 15 wins are tied for eighth on the all-time list with current teammate Duke von Schamann and Robert Carson. Troy Stokes Jr. stole his league-leading 12th base in the top of the seventh, and is now 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts on the season. The Revs’ six-run sixth marked their third-largest inning of the season, behind only a seven-run frame and an eight-run inning, both of which occurred on April 28 at Lexington. Of York’s 10 hits, eight went for extra bases (six doubles, two homers). Lancaster’s three-game winning is snapped, along with its season-opening six-game home winning streak. It also snapped a 17-game streak for the Barnstormers in which the home team won. The game kicked off a stretch of six consecutive matchups head-to-head between York and Lancaster.
