Pinstriped Performances: Heartbreak in Akron

Baseball can be a cruel game sometimes. Just outs away from a trip to the postseason, Somerset frittered away a 4-0 advantage over the RubberDucks and saw Bowie rally to defeat Altoona, ending their fantastic season. Only Tampa will forge ahead, representing the system in the playoffs.

JP Sears pitching for the Somerset Patriots on May 7, 2021. (Chris Jones)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (68-49): The RailRiders ended their regular season with a 5-1 win over Lehigh Valley, and will now enter the 10-game Final Stretch, during which a single Triple-A team will emerge victorious based on winning percentage.

• Star of the Game: JP Sears – 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 7 K, 83 pitches (60 strikes). Sears is on a scalding stretch of three starts, surrendering just three earned runs and striking out 25 over 18 innings
• Miguel Andújar: 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 walk. It’s likely too late for Andújar to do much to stop the bleeding in New York, but he’s on the road back
• Greg Allen: 3-for-5, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base
• Trey Amburgey: 2-for-4, 1 double, 1 run scored, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• Sócrates Brito: 3-for-4, 1 double, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored. Brito finishes up the regular season with a .704 OPS
• Reggie McClain: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
• Brody Koerner: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 19 pitches (12 strikes)
• Ron Marinaccio: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 14 pitches (10 strikes)

Dermis Garcia. Photo by Matt Kardos.

Somerset Patriots (72-47): The devastating end shouldn’t overshadow the resounding success of Somerset’s first season of affiliated ball, but that won’t erase the hurt that these players are certainly feeling after things fell apart so quickly on Sunday.

• Star of the Game: Dermis Garcia – 3-for-4, 1 home run (31), 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored. Garcia’s last of the season was hit off of a rehabbing Shane Bieber. Not bad
• Oswald Peraza: 3-for-4, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base. Peraza wraps up a terrific season with an .815 OPS
• Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-4, 1 home run (24), 2 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout. If Garcia hadn’t put up such gaudy totals, perhaps we’d be talking about Cabrera, who also went deep off Bieber, even more
• Luis Medina: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 82 pitches (46 strikes). Medina’s season was uneven, but he mixed in a few performances that demonstrated his high ceiling. Here’s hoping he’ll suit up for Toros del Este this winter
• Nick Ernst: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 31 pitches (18 strikes)
• Addison Russ: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 11 pitches (7 strikes)

Jake Sanford (John Brophy/Pinstriped Prospects)

Hudson Valley Renegades (71-49): The ‘Gades wrapped up their first season as a Yankees affiliate with a 6-5 loss to Greensboro.

• Star of the Game: Jake Sanford – 2-for-5, 1 triple, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 3 strikeouts. Sanford finishes up with an .839 OPS
• Anthony Volpe: 1-for-4, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base. Volpe burst onto the scene this season and cemented his place as the organization’s top prospect with a slash line of .294/.423/.604 across Low and High-A. What an utterly spectacular season for the 20-year-old
• Austin Wells: 2-for-5, 1 double, 1 run scored, 3 strikeouts, 1 stolen base. Wells’ rookie season was a successful one, as he hit 16 home runs and showed off some surprising wheels with 16 steals
• Carlos Narvaez: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base
• James Nelson: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 strikeout, 2 stolen bases
• Mitch Spence: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 9 K, 86 pitches (58 strikes)
• Edgar Barclay: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 19 pitches (14 strikes)
• Freicer Perez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 17 pitches (10 strikes)
• Nelson L. Alvarez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 23 pitches (11 strikes)

Jhonatan Munoz (Photo by John Brophy/Pinstriped Prospects)

Tampa Tarpons (73-43): Tampa now turns its attention to the championship series against Bradenton following a 5-4 loss to Fort Myers to close out the regular season.

• Star of the Game: Kyle Battle – 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base. Though advanced in age, Battle is someone to keep an eye on next season. He tore up the FCL before making a quick end-of-season cameo with the Tarpons
• Jasson Dominguez: 0-for-5, 4 strikeouts
• Antonio Gomez: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts
• Cooper Bowman: 1-for-4, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout, 2 stolen bases
• Madison Santos: 1-for-3, 1 double, 1 run scored, 1 walk, 1 stolen base
• Pedro Diaz: 2-for-4, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout
• Jhonatan Munoz: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 47 pitches (30 strikes)
• Kenlly Montas: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 29 pitches (15 strikes)
• Ben Keizer: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
• Wellington Diaz: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, 20 pitches (14 strikes)
• Danny Watson: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 23 pitches (15 strikes)