(May 30, 2018) -- The York Revolution rode another strong performance from the red-hot offense to a 7-5 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Wednesday afternoon at PeoplesBank Park. The Revs are now 4-0 against the Blue Crabs this season and clinched their second straight series win. The game was played in front of 5,891 fans, the largest Baseball in Education Day crowd in Revs history.
The Revs jumped on the board early again when Alexi Casilla hit a solo home run over the Arch Nemesis in left off Crabs starter Drake Britton. The homer was Casilla’s second of the season and second in less than 24 hours. The Revs added another run on Zach Wilson’s two-out RBI double off the wall in left, making it 2-0 Revs after the first inning.
After Revs starter Zac Grotz gave up a solo homer to Cory Vaughn in the top of the second, the Revs got the run back and made it 3-1 in the bottom half on Tyler Clark’s RBI single up the middle.
The Blue Crabs tied the game at 3-3 off Grotz in the top of the fourth on Vaughn’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot over the Arch Nemesis.
The Revs came right back in the bottom of the fourth. Jose Cuevas led off with a double down the left field line and two batters later, Clark hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Cuevas. Casilla brought another run home with an RBI single, giving the Revs a 5-3 advantage.
York tacked on again in the sixth. After Clark and Jared Mitchell walked, and Clark got to third on a passed ball, Casilla laced a two-RBI double down the third base line to bring the Revs’ lead to 7-3. The double came off Crabs reliever David Wayne Russo, but the runs were charged to David Perez, who was removed from the game after Mitchell’s walk.
Southern Maryland inched within 7-4 as Frank Martinez led off the eighth with a double, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sac fly from Angelo Songco.
Revs closer Junior Rincon came on for the ninth in a 7-4 game and promptly loaded the bases with one out. After walking in a run, Rincon struck out the final two batters he faced to get out of the jam with the tying run at second base and earn his fifth save of the season in the Revs’ 7-5 win.
Grotz (2-0) earned the win, going five innings while allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Britton (2-2) took the loss, giving up five runs in four innings.
The Revs (15-12) and Blue Crabs (10-19) conclude their three-game series Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at PeoplesBank Park as the Revs look for the series sweep. It is York City School District Academic All-Stars Night presented by Harrisburg University. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and at the Revs Ticket Office.
Notes: The attendance of 5,891 was the largest weekday afternoon non-holiday crowd in Revs history (includes Baseball in Education Day and Camp Day games). Casilla finished the game 4-for-5 with a home run, double, two singles and four RBI. He’s the third Rev with a four-hit game this season, joining Mitchell and Rubi Silva, and the second with a four-RBI game, joining Michael Burgess. Casilla's four-hit, four-RBI game came one day after posting a three-hit, three-RBI game. Grotz’s scoreless-inning streak was snapped at 21.2 innings and it finished as the fourth-longest in Revs’ history. Welington Dotel extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an eighth-inning single. The Revs totaled 12 hits, making it their seventh consecutive game with ten or more.
Story by Michael Marcantonini
Broadcaster/Media Relations Asst.
