CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston RiverDogs were held scoreless over the first eight innings and fell 5-1 to the Greenville Drive, Friday night in front of 5,382 fans at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. The loss marks the fourth in a row for Charleston, their longest losing skid of the season and also pulls the Drive even with them for first place in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League.
For the second game in a row, the Drive (19-15) scored first in the early innings against the R’Dogs. Mike Meyers connected for a leadoff single in the third against starter David Palladino. He then moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a fly ball to right field and scored to make it 1-0 on an RBI ground out off the bat of the catcher Jordan Procyshen.
Palladino (1-2) pitched around trouble in four of his five strong innings. His outing came to an end after the fifth; he yielded the one run on four hits, walked three and struck out five, including all three batters in the second.
Andre Del Bosque took over in the sixth and was greeted with an offensive onslaught. The first three reached and all came around to score, increasing the Drive’s lead to 4-0. Michael Chavis connected on a ball to right field that ate up Brandon Thomas and allowed the runner at first to score. Javier Guerra plated Chavis with an RBI single, and scored himself on a sacrifice fly by Meyers. The Drive upped the lead to 5-0 with another tally in the eighth, making it 5-0.
Jalen Beeks (3-1) toed the slab for the Drive and was outstanding. The southpaw went seven-scoreless innings, allowed just four hits, hit a batter, walked one and struck out two.
Charleston’s (19-15) lone run came in the ninth inning on a leadoff, solo home run to left off the bat of Chris Breen. The dinger was the outfielder’s first of the season and 14th of his career.
Box Score: http://atmilb.com/1cF3VN4
Game Highlights: https://youtu.be/TZgp6_Y_8Kk
BALLPARK FUN: The fans at The Joe were once again entertained by Titus the Bat Dog on another wonderful ISHPI Red Shirt Friday. Home Telecom fireworks followed the contest and the long-time Mayor of Charleston, Joseph P. Riley, Jr., for whom the ballpark is named, was given a pyrotechnic salute in front of the right-field wall during the fireworks’ grand finale. The crowd in attendance was great defensively making a couple of plays early and Chelsea zoomed out of the gate and twirled her way to victory in the mascot race.
COMING UP: The 9th annual Run, Forrest, Run 5K Race, presented by Fleet Feet Sports, will be held prior to Saturday’s game. The rain-or-shine event benefits the MUSC Storm Eye Institute and their fight to cure Retinitis Pigmentosa and other blinding diseases. Saturday is also Shoes for Joe Night. Fans that bring new or used shoes for donating to INNERSOLES will receive a free general admission ticket to the game. INNERSOLES is a charity founded by Dawn Staley, the University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach. There will be a pregame ceremony involving both teams, honoring Greenville native Shoeless Joe Jackson. Kids will be able to run the bases thanks to CPI Security Systems and the first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a RiverDogs Fannypack sponsored by Kickin’ 92.5.
The RiverDogs and Drive get ready for game three of the four-game series Saturday night at The Joe at 6:05 p.m. RHP Luis Cedeño (3-1, 2.33) gets the nod for the R’Dogs, he will throw against RHP Denny Bautista (SAL Debut) of the Drive. Bautista was signed to a Minor League Contract by the Boston Red Sox and assigned to the Drive. He is 11-15 with a 5.88 ERA in his big-league career, but has not pitched in the majors since 2010. You can catch the action on 1250 WTMA “The Big Talker”, RiverDogs.com and MiLB.TV.
-RIVERDOGS-
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