Gomez and Gasper go back-to-back as Espinal fans seven
By: Riverdogs Media
It took one more game than the RiverDogs had intended, but they finally clinched their second series win of the season with a 7-1 victory over the Greenville Drive in front of 5,349 on Wednesday afternoon at Joe Riley Park.
Wednesday's game was a rare 11:05 a.m. start for Education Day at the ballpark. Youngsters from local schools ditched classes for a fun day at the ballpark, and they were treated to Charleston's (7-7) second game of the series that saw at least six Dogs cross home plate.
Charleston again got on the board early, with their fifth and sixth second-inning runs of the season off of Greenville's (5-8) starter Yasel Santana (0-2, 10.13). After a strikeout by DH Josh Breaux to lead off the inning, Nelson Gomez hit a screaming line drive over the left field wall for his first home run of the season. Not to be outdone, catcher Mickey Gasper saw pitch to his liking and crushed it over the right field wall for the first back-to-back home runs of the season for Charleston.
Out of the 51 runs the RiverDogs have scored this season, 20 of them have come in the first two innings.
The Dogs would later add two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, on a sac fly by Junior Soto and a pair of RBI singles by Eduardo Torrealba and Max Burt, as well as one more in the eighth on an RBI single by Josh Stowers. With his 2-for-4 day, Burt snapped a three-game hitless streak.
Jio Orozco (1-1, 1.88), making the start in the place of injured starter Matt Sauer, turned in a very impressive outing, the longest by a RiverDog this season. He worked six innings and allowed one run on five hits, walking four and striking out three. He needed 95 pitches to complete his day.
Making his season debut with Charleston after being called upon to replace the injured Adonis De La Cruz on the roster, Carlos Espinal relieved Orozco in the seventh and proceeded to strike out seven over three perfect innings to punctuate the win and garner a save.
Upcoming
The Dogs now look ahead to their second road trip of the season, a short three-game trip through Augusta this weekend to take on the GreenJackets before returning home next week. Tanner Myatt (0-0, 2.08), still looking for his first win of the season, will take the mound for Charleston Thursday night. Through two starts so far, Myatt has 8.2 innings under his belt, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out ten. In their first look at the 2019 GreenJackets, the Dogs offense will face right-hander Jake Wong (0-1, 6.35). The Chandler, AZ native will be making his third start of the season after working four innings of one-run ball against the West Virginia Power on April 12. Catch the game on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area, online streaming on the TuneIn Radio app.
Fans can “Make Fun” with the RiverDogs all season long down at The Joe. Single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS). A full schedule and list of game times for the 2019 season is available at riverdogs.com.
