Michael Paez Blasts The Fireflies Into First Place | Astromets Mind

Friday, June 16, 2017

Michael Paez Blasts The Fireflies Into First Place

Columbia Fireflies @ Greenville Drive


June 15, 2017


Harol Gonzalez @ Logan Boyd


Teams
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

R
H
E
Columbia
0
0
4
1
0
0
0
2
0

7
12
0
Greenville
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

2
13
0
W: Gonzalez (4-4, 4.11 ERA); L: Boyd (7-4, 4.59 ERA)

Boxscore


The Highlights:

Pitchers

Harol Gonzalez (W, 4-4, 4.11 ERA) – 7.2 IP, 11 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 2B, 2 HR, 18 TB, 1 BB, 6 K (6 K/Sw), 1 GIDP, 14 GB: 4 FB: 6 LD: 2 PU, 108 Pitches (77 Strikes), 13 Swinging, 15 Called, 12% SwStr, 21% Whiff/Swing, 14.1 Pitches/IP, 33 BF
Taylor Henry (3.55 ERA) – 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 TB, 1 GB: 3 FB, 17 Pitches (11 Strikes), 4 Called, 25.5 Pitches/IP, 4 BF
Adam Atkins (2.57 ERA) – 0.2 IP, 1 GB: 1 PU, 14 Pitches (11 Strikes), 1 Called, 21 Pitches/IP, 2 BF

Batters

CF - Gene Cone - 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HBP, 1 K, 13.6% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 4.4 Pitches/PA
SS - Luis Carpio - 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 SF, 2 K, 1 CS, 25% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 2.4 Pitches/PA
2B - Michael Paez - 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 K, 11.1% SwStr, 28.6% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA
1B - Dash Winningham - 2-4, 1 R, 10% SwStr, 20% Whiff/Swing, 5 Pitches/PA
LF - Jay Jabs - 2-4, 1 GIDP, 5.25 Pitches/PA
RF - Jose Miguel Medina - 1-4, 1 R, 1 K, 7.7% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.25 Pitches/PA
DH - Tim Tebow - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3.75 Pitches/PA
3B - Reed Gamache - 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 7.1% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.5 Pitches/PA
C - Dan Rizzie - 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 21.4% SwStr, 37.5% Whiff/Swing, 3.5 Pitches/PA


Recapish


            The Columbia Fireflies finished their improbable run to first place Thursday night in Greenville with a 7-2 win over the Drive to take a half-game lead in the division. Harol Gonzalez went 7.2 IP for the second straight start and made it six straight starts allowing two runs or less. Michael Paez provided most of the support for Harol, muscling two homers over the ‘mini-monster’ in what was a preview of Monday’s homerun derby (he’ll be competing against teammate Dash Winningham, among others, Monday).

Columbia trailed by 5.5 games at the end of the night on 5/26, which means they have been six games better than the second best team in the SAL over the last twenty days. The Fireflies have been 16-4 since 5/26, and this run is eerily similar to what the Savannah Sand Gnats did down the stretch of the first-half in 2015. That team went 25-9 to overtake Greenville and win the first-half playoff spot by one game. This Columbia team is now in control, but they still have to take care of Charleston this weekend, and they will likely be looking for some revenge after the Fireflies swept them in a five-game series over this past weekend.
            Andres Gimenez was given the night off, so Luis Carpio was at shortstop and in the two-hole. Carpio singled in the 1st but was caught stealing third to end the frame with Dash Winningham at the plate.

Carpio

            Just like his last start, Harol G allowed a lot of singles, but the Drive were never able to get anything out of those hits. Of the eight singles he allowed, four came on grounders, three of which never left the infield. He worked around a two out single and his only walk of the game in the 1st.

Carpio at shortstop

            It’s never good when a runner is thrown out trying to steal third, because if they’re fast enough to steal third, they’re fast enough to score on most hits to the outfield. Carpio’s stolen base looked especially bad when Dash Winningham started the 2nd with a single, although there’s no guarantee he would’ve done that in the 1st. Jay Jabs followed with a double play grounder to cut short any threat.

Dash

            Greenville jumped ahead on a Roldani Baldwin solo blast in the 2nd. The next two Drive batters followed with singles to put two on with nobody out. Although the game appeared to be getting away from him, Harol G remained unfazed, and he responded with a huge strikeout of Steven Reveles for the first out. He retired the final two batters of the frame on groundouts to strand both runners and keep it a 1-0 game.

Baldwin

K #1

Swinging strike

Swinging strike

            Drive starter Logan Boyd was wild to start the 3rd, so Columbia needed just one hit in the frame to take control of this game. Tim Tebow and Reed Gamache worked walks to start the frame and then a Gene Cone HBP loaded the bases. After a Carpio sac fly brought home the tying run, Michael Paez launched his first of two homerun’s to make it a 4-1 game.

Cone

Paez


            After being handed a 4-1 lead, Harol went out and tossed his first perfect frame of the night. He struck out Chris Madera and Tyler Hill during a 15-pitch 3rd inning.

K #2

K #3

Replay of the third pitch

            Both of Columbia catcher’s got a little banged up during Wednesday night’s game (Ali Sanchez took a foul ball off his foot and Brandon Brosher took an unofficial HBP to his hand), so Dan Rizzie was added to the roster from St. Lucie and made his first start as a Firefly.
Jose Medina (not shown on feed) and Tim Tebow singled with one out in the 4th, which set up an eventual RBI situation for Rizzie. He came up with runners on the corners and two outs and lined an RBI single into RF to make it a 5-1 game.

Tebow

Rizzie

            Harol G made it eight straight retired when he set down the first two in the 4th, striking out Tucker Tubbs for the second out. Then Mitchell Gunsolus connected on a double to CF and Reveles followed with a single. Fortunately, the Reveles hit was an infield single, so Gunsolus only advanced to third on the play, and then Harol escaped the jam with another groundball out.

Called strike


K #4

Gunsolus

            Santiago Espinal reached on an infield single to start the Greenville 5th, went to second on a passed ball as Madera struck out swinging, and advanced to third on a fly out to RF. The inning came down to a matchup of Harol G vs. Ryan Scott, and Gonzalez induced a pop out to Rizzie in foul territory for the final out of the frame.

K #5

Swinging strike

Swinging strike

            Jay Jabs started his night 0-2 but then finished 2-2 over the final four innings for his fourth straight multi-hit game. However, his 5th inning single and Reed Gamache’s 7th inning double led to nothing for Columbia.

Jabs

Gamache

            The first two Drive batters reached on singles in the 6th, but then Harol retired the next five batters for six outs thanks to a double play. He also struck out Gunsolus during the stretch.

K #6

Replay of the fourth pitch

Gamache at third to Paez at second

            Paez started the 8th with his second homer of the game and eighth of the season. Dash Winningham recently became the first player in Fireflies franchise history to hit two homers in a game, and then he did it again a few weeks later, so Michael Paez is the second player to do it and it’s the third time to happen in two years in Columbia. Dash and Jabs followed with singles, and then the Fireflies would get Dash around on a pair of groundouts to extend their lead to 7-1.

Paez


Dash

Jabs

            Even though his pitch count was at 97, Harol Gonzalez convinced his Manager to let him start the 8th, and he was given some rope. Tyler Hill started the frame with a single to CF, which is when most minors Managers would’ve come to get their starter, but not Jose Leger on this night. Leger’s confidence in Harol G paid off when the next batter hit a grounder for a double play thanks to a heads up play from Dash. Unfortunately, Roldani Baldwin stood between Harol and his first eight-inning appearance of the year, and Baldwin took Gonzalez deep for his second solo blast of the game. Taylor Henry came out of the pen to finish the 8th.


Baldwin

            Gene Cone connected for his ninth double of the year in the Cola half of the 9th and that officially made it a Fireflies hit party in Greenville, as every starter finished with at least one hit.


            Henry and Adam Atkins combined to work around some more Greenville singles in the 9th. Credit the Drive for not going down without a fight, but they couldn’t push any runs across in their final chance.

Atkins

            With this series wrapped up, the Fireflies just need to take care of business in Charleston this weekend and they’ll clinch a playoff spot. Per the Fireflies game notes, Jordan Humphreys (9-1, 1.41 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener Friday night, with game time scheduled for 7:05 PM.



Pitcher Coverage


Table 1 – Harol pitch stats by inning

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
Total
Total
12
19
15
17
11
13
10
11
108
Strikes
6
16
9
13
11
8
6
8
77
Swinging*
0
4
3
1
4
1
0
0
13
*12% Swinging strike rate; 21% Whiff/Swing rate






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