HARRISBURG, PA – How well is Chance Adams pitching?
After six innings in a game the Thunder led 1-0 at the time, he had thrown 69 pitches. Tyler Mapes, one of Harrisburg’s top starters, had thrown 97. The Thunder (71-42) broke the game open against Harrisburg’s bullpen en route to a 6-0 win before 5,442 fans on City Island.
The Thunder led 1-0 into the seventh inning when Tyler Wade walked with one out to reach first base. Dustin Fowler strode to the plate and belted a home run off the base of the videoboard in right field to provide some cushion and a 3-0 lead.
“It’s not just me,’’ Adams (8-0 with Trenton and 13-0) overall) has said repeatedly during his streak. “Guys behind me are playing defense and getting hits.’’
Two innings later, Michael O’Neill walked against left-hander, Nick Lee, who balked him into scoring position. Fowler poked an RBI single into right field and finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Trenton added two more runs in the inning on an RBI single by Billy McKinney and an RBI groundout by Abiatal Avelino.
Adams allowed four hits in six shutout innings as he set the tone early for the Thunder to score the first run on a Miguel Andujar RBI groundout in the third inning.
Adams struck out just two batters, coming off a career-high nine strikeouts in his last start against the Altoona Curve. In his six innings, he needed just the 69 pitches (44 strikes) to carve his way through the lineup.
Only one of the four baserunners reached base with fewer than two outs. Over his last eight starts including Saturday night, Adams has allowed just 15 hits in 45.2 innings, for a .099 BAA (15-for-151).
The final three innings were handled by J.P. Feyereisen who tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth, and Tyler Jones who stuck out a pair in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure the shutout win. The shutout is the 13th of the season for the Thunder as they improve upon their 3.06 season ERA.
The next closest pitching staff in the Eastern League is Harrisburg with an ERA over 3.50 and just 10 shutouts.
The Thunder and H-Sens wrap-up their three-game series with a rubber game Sunday at First National Bank Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with LHP Daniel Camarena (7-3, 3.28) going toe-to-toe with Harrisburg’s RHP Michael Brady (3-5, 3.42) in the series finale. Pregame coverage begins on 91.3 FM and online at www.trentonthunder.com.
