(June 4, 2022 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution used a nine-run third inning to slug their way past the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes, 14-11 in front of 5,532 fans at PeoplesBank Park on Saturday night. York has won back-to-back games and will go for the series sweep to close the homestand on Sunday afternoon.
The Revs were held scoreless in the first inning for the first time in the homestand as York lefty Austin Nicely and Kentucky right-hander Max Povse traded 1-2-3 innings.
Nicely ran into trouble in the second as two soft grounders found the outfield grass, and with two on and two out, Cleluis Rondon unloaded over the Arch Nemesis for a three-run blast to put the Genomes up 3-0.
The Revs wouldn’t play behind for long as Jhon Nunez cleared the bases with a double into the left-center field gap in the bottom of the second, tying things up at 3-3.
The slugfest continued to materialize in the top of the third with the Genomes plating another two runs on a Moises Sierra single and a bases loaded walk to catcher Chase Vallot, making it 5-3.
The Revs put up one of the most explosive innings in franchise history in the bottom of the third. After back-to-back one out walks set the table, JC Encarnacion started the barrage with an RBI double down the third base line to score Nellie Rodriguez. After Carlos Franco scored on a wild pitch, Nunez added his fourth RBI of the night on a base hit to right, plating Encarnacion and putting the Revs back on top, 6-5. With a two-strike count, Jack Kenley was hit in the foot by a breaking ball by Povse, prompting warnings to both sides for the second straight night. One batter after the warnings were issued, Troy Stokes Jr was hit by another breaking ball to force in a run, and Povse was tossed along with manager Mark Minicozzi.
York didn’t greet reliever Ryan Kellogg kindly. Elmer Reyes was the first to face him, knocking in two runs on a first-pitch double to left-center, his 13th of the year. Melky Mesa, who was back in the lineup after a day off on Friday, drove a deep fly down the right field line that cleared the fence for his fifth home run of the year as the three-run shot spiked his RBI total to 33 and the lead to 12-5. The nine-run inning marked the Revs’ second biggest of the season and tied the sixth largest in franchise history, three runs shy of the club record for a single inning.
After a shutout fourth by Nicely, the Revs plated two more on a bases loaded walk from Stokes Jr and a Reyes RBI single to left, going up 14-5.
The Genomes loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with one out, but Nicely rolled a 5-4-3 double play to get York out of the jam untouched.
Nicely went back out for the sixth inning, but walked the leadoff batter in front of an RBI triple to right-center by Luke Becker, who went on to score on a ground out from Jimmy Paredes.
Nicely was lifted after retiring Paredes, concluding his evening after nine hits, five walks and two strikeouts despite lots of soft contact sans the early long ball.
Eduardo Rivera relieved Nicely and faced Chris Shaw to begin things. Shaw hit a high pop up that was lost above the lights, allowing him to reach on a double. Despite striking out the next hitter, Rivera allowed a two-run moonshot down the right field line to Felix Pie whose two-run home run was the fourth hit for him in as many plate appearances, cutting the lead to 14-9.
Vallot walked to lead off the seventh against Robinson Parra and scored on a fielder’s choice, giving Wild Health double digits and cutting the York lead to 14-10.
Looking for a shutdown inning, the Revs turned to Josh Martin who delivered in the eighth, striking out the side in order.
Martin went back out for the ninth. After a fly out, Vallot tagged him for a solo shot over the Nemesis to cut it to 14-11. Martin bounced back with his fourth strikeout, and retired Anderson Miller on a pop out on one pitch, closing out the high-scoring victory.
Nicely earned his first win of the season, moving his record to 1-5, and giving the Revs a series win. They will look for the sweep on Sunday when Merandy Gonzalez toes the rubber in York’s final game of the homestand before embarking on a two-week road trip. The day features the Cancer Survivor Celebration presented by Visiting Angels, Sunday Funday presented by Weis Markets, Bark in the Park, and Boomer's Book Club. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: The nine-run inning is the season’s second largest to a 10-run third on May 26 at Staten Island. Nicely’s win is the 10th of his Revolution career. Mesa’s homer is the 63rd of his Revs career, pulling him within three of Andres Perez for second on the franchise’s all-time list. Franco saw his seven-game hitting streak snapped after batting .567 (17-for-30) on the streak. Reyes (2-for-5) extended his hitting streak to six games. The Revs improve to 12-9 since May 13.
