Dogs Can’t Overcome Shaky Medina Start in Loss

Breaux drives in two in losing effort

By: Riverdogs Media

Luis Medina fought for his command with every pitch he threw Saturday night as the RiverDogs fell 7-2 to the Columbia Fireflies in front of 4,661 at Joe Riley Park.

Medina (0-2, 9.64) ran into trouble right away, issuing a walk to Brian Sharp after fanning Fireflies (8-14) leadoff hitter Anthony Dirocie. Two wild pitches aided Sharp in advancing to third, and an error on Wilkerman Garcia allowed Columbia to take an early 1-0 lead.

The erratic night for Medina was just beginning, though, as Columbia pushed two more tallies across in the second inning. Medina hit Fireflies catcher Juan Uriarte after walking second baseman Walter Rasquin, and Dirocie brought them both home with a two out single.

Medina was able to work a scoreless third, despite allowing a single, walking two more and throwing another wild pitch, but the Fireflies ended his night after the fourth, when the second error of the game on Garcia and the fourth wild pitch of the night from Medina allowed Columbia to push their fourth marker across.

The RiverDogs (10-13) were finally able to muster a counterpunch in the home half of the inning after Dedniel Nuñez (3-1, 4.03) retired the first ten Charleston hitters he faced. Isaiah Pasteur was hit with one away and made it to third on a single by Garcia. Josh Breaux, who entered the game with five RBI in his last three games, added two more to that total with a line drive single to left field to drive his teammates in. Nuñez bounced back after the shaky frame, setting down seven of the next eight RiverDogs to finish his night, finishing the evening with six innings pitched and two runs allowed on three hits. He struck out eight and didn’t issue a walk.

Anderson Muñoz relieved Medina in the fifth, and was able to settle things down on the pitching side for Charleston for the next four innings. The wheels came off in the top of the ninth when Columbia struck once more by way of a two-run triple by Wagner Lagrange, his first of the season.

Muñoz kept the Dogs in the game up to that point, allowing three runs in total over the final five innings on five hits, walking one and striking out seven in his third appearance of the season. Medina left the mound on the hook for four runs on three hits in four innings, walking four and striking out three.The Dogs couldn’t muster much after Nuñez’s departure, as Darwin Ramos, Andrew Mitchell and Ezequiel Zabaleta came on and closed the book on Charleston over the final three innings, combining for four strikeouts and allowing just two hits and a walk. The victory snapped a seven game skid for the Fireflies.

The loss marked Charleston’s sixth by five or more runs this season.

Ballpark Fun

It was an action-packed Saturday night at The Joe, starting with the first Naturday of the season. The RiverDogs featured their brand new, refreshing Natty Light Strawberry Lemonade Beer Shake as part of the event. The helicopter ball drop returned after the game as well, as one lucky fan walked away with $2,000 on his birthday!

Upcoming

The RiverDogs conclude their seven-game homestand looking to take the third game of the four game set. Alexander Vizcaino (1-1, 4.40) makes his fourth start of the young season, looking to rebound after struggling through 4.2 innings his last start, giving up four runs on five hits in the 7-1 loss to the Kannapolis Intimidators April 22.

For those that can’t make it to Riley Park, catch the game on MyTV Charleston on local television, WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area, online streaming on the TuneIn Radio app and on MiLB.tv with a subscription. 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.

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