Game 1: Chase Hampton (2-2, 4.77 ERA) vs. Connor Van Scoyoc (6-6, 3.68 ERA)
After a grind-it-out series win against Reading, the Bridgewater Bombers returned home for a 6-game set against the Hartford Yard Goats. When Somerset took the field however, they would be without Jasson Dominguez as the Yankees top prospect was (finally) called up to Triple-A earlier in the day.
Chase Hampton took the ball and was nothing short of spectacular. Hampton would go 5 innings allowing just 4 hits and striking out 6 batters. Tanner Myatt 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, K) came on in the 6th and was able to pitch 2 scoreless innings holding Hartford to no runs through 8 innings. The Patriots offense could not buy a run either, without Dominguez in the lineup, they too were being shutout through the first 7 innings of play.
Jack Neely came on in the 8th innings and like Hampton and Myatt, was lights out as well. The game would remain scoreless through 9 innings and we had free baseball in game 1!
Neely went out for his 3rd inning of work (a career high) and after a sac-bunt put the ghost runner on 3rd with 1 out, Neely would throw a wild pitch and the Yard Goats went up 1-0 in the 10th.
Somerset would load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th and looked to in prime striking distance to tie the ballgame up. Two quick pop outs by Max Burt and Eduardo Torrealba had our hopes dwindling now with Somerset down to their final out. Ben Rice then dug in and blasted a walk-off grand slam and we had bedlam in Bridgewater.
Nice to be Rice! pic.twitter.com/cyRaguiXZy
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 23, 2023
Jack Neely (3.0 IP, R, 0 ER, H, 4 K) earned his first Double-A win after a stellar relief appearance.
Final: 4-1 Patriots (Somerset Leads Series 1-0)
Game 2: Yoendrys Gomez (0-2, 3.14 ERA) vs. Mike Ruff (0-5, 7.01 ERA)
After an exciting win the night before Somerset looked to make it back-to-back wins as Yoendrys Gomez took the ball. Gomez, who is still working his way back from an injury has not gone deep into games much this season, tossed a season high 5.2 innings allowing 2 earned runs for a quality outing .
Josh Breaux got the Patriots on the board with an RBI single in the 4th scoring Agustin Ramirez and Somerset jumped out to a 1-0 lead.
Nice hit Breaux!
Josh Breaux drives in the first run of the game with a RBI single to left!
It’s 1-0 @SOMPatriots #RepBx
— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 23, 2023
Gomez began to struggle in the 5th when he allowed a run to score on a balk and then gave up the lead after Colin Simpson singled in the go ahead run putting the Yard Goats up 2-1.
Ben Rice (1-for-4, RBI, R, HR) would tie the game up in the 6th belting a solo shot to right. The long ball was Rice’s 11th in just 28 Double-A games and he looks to be “the guy” now that Dominguez is up in Scranton.
Another day…ANOTHER BEN RICE HOME RUN!!!
It's his 11th home run in just his 28th Double-A game. pic.twitter.com/YLDyX0bawy
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 24, 2023
The score would remain tied at 2 until the top of the 9th when Danny Watson came on to relieve Ryan Anderson and gave up an infield single putting the Yard Goats ahead 3-2. The Patriots offense could not get anything going in the bottom of the 9th and dropped a heart breaker in game 2.
Final: 3-2 Yard Goats (Series Tied 1-1)
Game 3: Richard Fitts (9-5, 3.16 ERA) vs Carson Palmquist (7-2, 3.39 ERA)
Thursday night was primed to another pitchers duel as both teams sent out top class starters. Richard Fitts looked to get another quality start and he did just that going 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 4 K and earned his 14th quality start of the year. Fitts leads all of Minor League Baseball in quality starts as his magical season continues.
Neither team could get much going against either starter in this one. The score once again stayed tied at 0 until Hartford broke through in the 7th. Jesus Liranzo who came on for Fitts allowed a 2 out RBI single to Sterlin Thompson putting the Pats down 1-0.
Finally in the bottom of the 9th, the Pats offense came alive. Elijah Dunham (2-for-3, HR, BB) launched a game tying home run to lead off the inning and we finally had ourselves a game. Hartford would then walk three straight batters to load the bases for Mickey Gasper. Mickey wasted no time and walked it off with an RBI single marking the Patriots second walk-off win in 3 games.
Just Rosie🌹 pic.twitter.com/Ls34swd2rh
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 25, 2023
Bailey Dees earned his first win of the year striking out 3 in his one inning of work.
Final: 2-1 Patriots (Somerset Leads Series 2-1)
Game 4: Drew Thorpe (2-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. Andrew Quezada (4-5, 4.78 ERA)
Drew Thorpe is becoming a must watch for Somerset since being called up. The Yankees number 2 pitching prospect took the ball and was electric.
Thorpe 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 9 K) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed only three base runners in his third Double-A start. Since making his Double-A debut on August 11, Thorpe is undefeated with a record of 3-0, a 1.29 ERA and 30 K in 29.0 IP. Thorpe’s 30 strikeouts during that span lead the Eastern League.
Yankees No. 5 prospect Drew Thorpe is HIM.
6️⃣.1️⃣ IP | 1️⃣ R | 2️⃣ H | 9️⃣ K pic.twitter.com/9uf7K1ITwT
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 26, 2023
The offense left no doubt in this one, finally breaking out against Hartford pitching. Josh Breaux and Grant Richardson each had RBI singles in the bottom of the 1st putting Somerset on top 2-0. The Patriots would tack on 5 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd with Caleb Durbin, Agustin Ramirez, Elijah Dunham and Richardson each driving in runs. Durbin (2-for-5, RBI, 2 R, 2B) got things started in the inning with an RBI double extending his hit streak to 5 games.
The scoring was capped off when Grant Richardson (3-for-5, 3 RBI, R, HR, K) went deep in the bottom of the 6th with his first Double-A home run extending the Somerset lead to 8-1.
Final: 8-1 Patriots (Somerset Leads Series 3-1)
Game 5: Matt Sauer (2-3, 4.03 ERA) vs. Joe Rock (1-10, 5.19 ERA)
Saturday night in Bridgewater means fireworks! It certainly has been a series full of fireworks with walk-off wins, long balls, and stud pitching performances. Matt Sauer looked to keep the Patriots rolling and did just that with another equality outing. Sauer went 6 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits and struck out 5 putting the Pats in position to take another game.
Somerset trailed 1-0 going into the 5th when Agustin Ramirez finally got them on the board with a 2-run home run. The long ball was Ramirez’s 2nd in Double-A and it gave the Patriots a 2-1 lead. Ben Rice added some insurance in the 7th lacing an RBI single up the middle extending the Somerset lead 3-1.
THE AUGUST OF AGUSTIN!
Agustin Ramirez cranks a two-run go-ahead homer in the 5th, his 18th overall this season🔥 pic.twitter.com/hwIKoAFDEo
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 27, 2023
The combination of Tanner Myatt and Jack Neely allowed just one hit over the last 3 innings shutting down the Hartford offense. Neely earned his first Double-A save and Somerset took game 5 behind solid pitching and timely hits.
Final: 3-1 Patriots (Somerset Leads Series 4-1)
Game 6: Blane Abeyta (8-6, 5.43 ERA) vs. Case Williams (1-10, 6.65 ERA)
Sunday’s series finale saw Somerset pay a tribute to the New York Black Yankees. Willie Randolph was on hand to throw out the first pitch. Spencer Jones was called up earlier in the day and was set to make his Double-A debut with Blane Abeyta on the mound.
Jones stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 1st and ripped a bullet line drive to left. Hartford left fielder Nick Decolati laid out to rob him of his first Double-A hit. Grant Richardson got the scoring started by belting a 2-run bomb to right field, putting the Patriots up 2-0. The very next inning Ben Rice (1-for-5, HR) did, well, what Ben Rice does, crushing a solo shot to right and the Pats extended the lead to 3-0. Over 23 games in the month of August, Rice is hitting .326 with 8 HR, 24 RBI, and a 1.050 OPS.
BEN RICE…KNEW IT pic.twitter.com/7t8hVWF7eL
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 27, 2023
Blane Abeyta started strong but ran into some trouble in the top of the 5th. With two outs and a runner on 1st, Abeyta gave up 3 straight doubles and the Yard Goats tied the game up at 3. In the bottom of the 5th Somerset would take the lead right back. After Caleb Durbin led off the inning with a single.
Spencer Jones got his first Double-A hit; ripping a ball back up the middle advancing Durbin to 2nd.
Spencer Jones rips a single to CF for his first Double-A base hit!#RepBX @PinstripedPros pic.twitter.com/zVnALgImEr
— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 27, 2023
Agustin Ramirez would then single to load the bases with one for Elijah Dunham. Dunham did hit into an inning ending double-play but a run would score as the second out was recorded after Durbin crossed home. The Patriots took a 4-3 lead into the top of 6th looking to hang on and close out the series with another win.
Hartford got to Abeyta again in the 6th and would eventually chase him from the game. Back-to-back singles and a walk to start the inning loaded the bases with no one out. Alex Mauricio would come on in relief and gave up a sac-fly to Warming Bernabel to tie the game at 4. Mauricio would then hit 2 batters in a row allowing the go-head run to score and was lifted for Danny Watson.
Hartford was out to a 6-4 lead until Somerset started to creep back in the bottom of the 7th. After 2 quick outs, Spencer Jones (2-for-4, R) was able to reach on an infield single and Agustin Ramirez (2-for-3, RBI, 2B, SB) drove him in, ripping an RBI double to right and cutting the deficit to 6-5. Euardo Torrealba drove in the tying run in the bottom of the 8th and Somerset then took the lead when Yard Goats pitcher Juan Mejia (thinking he was granted a timeout for wanting a new ball) tossed the ball into the Hartford dugout and it was ruled a 2 base error scoring Mickey Gasper.
Ryan Anderson and Bailey Dees combined to pitch a scoreless 9th and the Patriots finished off the series with a big win.
Final: 7-6 Patriots (Somerset wins series 5-1)
Somerset now heads to Portland with a 6 game set against the Sea Dogs. The Patriots are now 30-21 in the second half (72-47 overall) and lead the Eastern League by 3 games over Binghamton.
While they have already clinched a playoff spot, it is important for this team to keep rolling and finish the year strong. They certainly have what it takes for back-to-back Eastern League Championships with 3 stud starters who can shut any lineup down. First pitch on Tuesday is at 6pm where Chase Hampton will likely be the starter in game 1.
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