NORTH AUGUSTA, SC – Dionis Paulino finished with three extra-base hits on Saturday – including a go-ahead home run in the sixth – and led Columbia to a 3-2 series-opening victory over Augusta at SRP Park. Paulino wound up a triple shy of recording the cycle on a night he tallied a career-high four hits. The Fireflies are back above .500 (5-4) in the second half of the season.
Paulino took GreenJackets’s reliever John Russell (L, 5-5) deep with two outs in the sixth frame. The mammoth blast broke a 2-2 tie and put the visitors ahead for good. Paulino doubled in the second and ninth innings and also singled in the fourth.
Columbia (5-4, 39-37) had fallen behind 2-0 in the second. Nick Hill drilled a two-run double that proved to be the only important hit for Augusta (3-7, 40-38) on Saturday. After a rocky first two innings, starter Joe Cavallaro (W, 8-2) got stronger and stronger as the night moved along. The Columbia ace and SAL all-star lasted six frames and picked up his league-leading eighth victory of the season. The right-hander struck out seven and scattered just four hits.
The fifth proved to be the pivotal frame when the Fireflies tied the score. Hansel Moreno and Edgardo Fermin kicked off the inning with consecutive singles before Raphael Gladu plated the visitor’s first run with a groundout. With Fermin later sitting at third, Matt Winaker drilled a deep fly ball to centerfield. The out was recorded, but Fermin tagged and scored the second run.
Moreno (eight straight games) and Fermin (12 straight) each extended their season-long hit streaks.
Columbia would not have been victorious on Saturday if not for the efforts of relievers Darwin Ramos and Trey Cobb (S, 10). Ramos retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings (including four strikeouts) and Cobb nailed down the win with a scoreless ninth, picking up his 10th save of the year (second-most in the SAL) in the process. Augusta finished with no hits from the fifth inning on.
1 comment:
Last Night's Yankees victory over the Red Sox was meaningful...
If anything, it showed clearly how badly Boston needs another starter of significance, a right hander) added into their rotation.
Why am I mentioning all this?
Because these NY Mets could be a very realistic trade suitor. Reality is always a tough pill to swallow for most people, I know. But the Mets have more than one weak area of player personnel to address now. Plus, the NY Mets need to get younger because there is no "magic wand remedy" to make for this team playoff competitive this season. It's all about the future now here.
Trading with the Yankees seems a bit strained to me, they're crosstown rivals. And I really do not see the Yankees as the best possible trade partners player personnel wise either. But there are three teams that I wouldn't mind trading with more, namely Boston, Houston, and Cleveland.
Houston is kind of thin in their minors. They do have three players that I have noticed there though, namely starter Cy Sneed (25 yr. old, 7-4, 85 K's in 83 innings, 1.20 WHIP all in 2018), 3B Tyler White, and 24 yr. old righty starter Rogelio Armenteros(418 career K's in just 380 innings, 27-12 career, 1.19 WHIP). They have others pitchers as well there.
The Red Sox are loaded with really decent lefty starting pitchers and they kind of/sort of could use another sound righty starter added into the mix. They also may need some seriously more veteran depth at second and third bases in the event fan favorite 2B Justin Pedroia is done from his knee injury of last season, and Rafael Devers were to get hurt second half. Interestingly enough, the NY Mets do have these two player personnel advantages.
So what would I want back from the Red Sox?
If Boston were actually to be interested in something like adding in
a starting right hander, and another veteran infielder more...
Maybe then a multi-player trade between these Mets and the Boston Red Sox, the Mets sending a righty starter Boston could really use now, and a veteran infielder. Whereas the Red Sox could send the Mets something like lefty kid starters Jalen Beeks (24 yr. old, 6'6", mid 90's fastball), Justin Groome (19 yr. old and currently out with TJ surgery, but having had this so early on in his career could prove to be a very good thing going forward), and 3B prospect Michael Chavis.
Now, if the Red Sox also really did want a veteran infielder as well, then maybe the Mets could ask for lefty starter Drew Pomeranz (age 29, 17-6 in 2017 with Boston, $8.5 million contract, 174 K's in 173 innings, 3.32 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP all in 2017). This would also help to balance out the salary end of this multi-player trade idea.
How it shakes down...
Red Sox get a righty starter of worth and value they can plug into their 2018 rotation right away and a solid veteran infielder to shore up and insure what they have currently there now.
The NY Mets get two younger lefty starters,one of which they could plug into their rotation right away, a veteran lefty in Pomeranz who also could be used immediately, and then for 2019 sometime a potential 3B they could bring to ST to try out, and lefty kid starter Jason Groome for the rotation down the road a bit, who also has outstanding promise.
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