SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Hub City (29-29) bounced back from a Tuesday defeat and annihilated Asheville (16-42) 21-0 Wednesday, setting multiple records in the process. The ‘Burgers had never scored 20 runs prior to the contest. Hub City also recorded the largest margin of victory over the two seasons of the franchise.
The Spartanburgers were held to just two runs in the series opener but came alive Wednesday afternoon in the middle innings. Hub City scored five runs in the fourth with home runs from Yeison Morrobel and Hector Osorio and six in the fifth when Esteban Mejia and Maxton Martin went yard.
Both teams were held hitless through the first three innings. Asheville starter Yeriel Santos (L, 2-3) conceded the first run of the game in the second inning. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. Mejia drove in the lead runner with a sacrifice fly.
After three shutout innings, Hub City starter J’Briell Easley gave up the first hit of the game with two outs in the top of the fourth. Alejandro Nunez stole second base after his single, but he was stranded there. Easley ended his day with four scoreless innings.
Hub City ambushed Santos in the fourth. With two on and two out, Morrobel lined a three-run homer to right field to put the ‘Burgers in front by four. After a Martin double, Osorio smacked his first Hub City homer off the scoreboard.
Brock Porter (W, 5-1) came in to pitch in the fifth and inherited a 6-0 lead. Porter gave up one baserunner in each of his first three innings, but he preserved the shutout through the seventh.
Against the first reliever for Asheville, Conor Steinbaugh, in the fifth, Chandler Pollard led off with a triple. Mejia followed up with a 445-foot home run to the berm in left. Carter Garate then smoked a gap-double and scored on a Morrobel single. Martin delivered with a home run, and Hub City had scored five runs before the first out was recorded in the inning. With one out, Michael Cuevas came in from the Asheville bullpen. He notched the final two outs of the inning after Pollard drove in one more run with a groundout.
Cuevas pitched a clean sixth and passed the baton to Eurys Martich in the seventh. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs against Martich. Pollard singled in a first run in the inning. Back-to-back hit batters made it 15-0 Hub City. Morrobel added one more with a single, and Martich was lifted from the game. Francisco Frias entered and surrendered one more run on a single from Osorio before leaving the bases loaded.
Porter ran into some trouble in the eighth. Asheville loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Porter got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a lineout, finishing four scoreless innings with five punchouts. Hub City added three more runs in the eighth when Asheville turned to catcher Freuddy Batista on the mound. Anthony Susac recorded the final three outs in a scoreless ninth.
After a blowout win for each team in the first two games of the series, Hub City and Asheville battle at 6:35 p.m. ET on Thursday night. Kamdyn Perry (0-0, 2.00 ERA) makes his Fifth Third Park debut for Hub City against Kellan Oakes (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
About the Hub City Spartanburgers
The Hub City Spartanburgers are the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the reigning South Atlantic League South Division Champions. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-594-0701 or email: tickets@hcspartanburgers.com. For media inquiries, email: iunsworth@hcspartanburgers.com. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.
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