(August 23, 2022 – York, Pa.): Melky Mesa jumpstarted the offense and moved closer to a York Revolution franchise record, but the Revs dropped a back-and-forth opener to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, their fourth straight loss, 5-4 on Tuesday night at PeoplesBank Park.
For the first time on the homestand, the Revs scored first on a two-run homer to right field from Mesa. He jumped on the first pitch he saw from Eddie Butler, scoring JC Encarnacion who had led off with a single. It was Mesa’s 72nd homer of his Revs career, and brought his RBI total to 306, now six RBIs shy of Andres Perez for the franchise record (312).
Southern Maryland got those two runs back in the second inning on a two-out, two-run ground rule double to right center from leadoff hitter Jack Sundberg, tying the game at 2-2. The Blue Crabs had three hits in the inning, all of which came on the first pitch against Revs starter Duke von Schamann.
Lenin Rodriguez put the Revs back in front in the bottom of the second with an RBI single to right, continuing his hot stretch with the seventh run he’s driven home in the past five games.
The Crabs answered back in a big way in the top of the third with back-to-back solo homers to right center from Joe DeLuca and right field by Alex Crosby. It was the first time since July that opponents have gone back-to-back off the Revs, putting Southern Maryland ahead 4-3.
Butler faced the minimum from the third inning until the seventh, with two base runners being erased on a back-pick at first and a 1-4-3 double play.
York got scoreless innings in relief from Roniel Raudes in the sixth and Doug Olcese in the seventh. Raudes had two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 sixth.
The span of facing the minimum for Butler ended in the seventh as Connor Lien worked a one-out walk and scored on an RBI double to deep left center by Josue Herrera, tying the game at 4-4. Rodriguez hit a line shot to left field one batter later that was caught by Sundberg with Herrera doubled off at second to end the inning.
Zach Collier led off the top of the eighth for the Blue Crabs with a single to center against Carlos Ventura and stole second and third, putting the go-ahead run 90 feet away with one out. Ventura got Michael Baca to swing and miss for strike three, but it became a wild pitch, allowing Collier to score and Baca to reach first. After another strikeout, Ventura was lifted for Tuck Tucker who got the left-handed hitting Sundberg to fly out to left field, ending the inning but not before the Crabs took a 5-4 lead.
York got two on in the eighth against James Dykstra, courtesy of two walks, but came up empty as the Blue Crabs righty struck out the side. Elmer Reyes had worked an 11-pitch walk early in the inning but was eventually stranded at second base. Mesa drove three foul balls deep to right, just missing turning the game around.
York went down quickly against closer Endrys Briceno in the ninth inning, falling by a final of 5-4.
The Revs will turn to Eduardo Rivera as they look to snap the skid and even the series on Wednesday night starting at 6:30 p.m. It is Wednesday Night Live and a PeoplesBank Kids Eat Free Wednesday. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: Nellie Rodriguez walked twice, increasing his league-leading total to 94 on the season, now 11 shy of the Atlantic League single season record of 105 set by teammate Telvin Nash in 2019. Olcese has now gone three scoreless, hitless innings to begin his Revs career. Lenin Rodriguez (1-for-2) is now 6-for-13 with seven RBI over his last five games.
