Wappingers Falls, NY – The Hudson Valley Renegades defeated the Jersey Shore BlueClaws 6-4 on Friday night at Heritage Financial Park.
Hudson Valley scored four in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 5-1 lead. They didn’t trail after that inning.
The BlueClaws had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the ninth. Renegades’ reliever Brandon Decker walked home a run to put the tying run in scoring position but was able to work around the trouble to earn his first save of the season.
Seven Renegades got hits in the game, and all but one starter got on base.
Hudson Valley did not commit an error and improved its record to 23-10 (.697) this season when not committing a miscue.
Jersey Shore pitching struck out 10 Renegades. The BlueClaws have 34 strikeouts through three games this series.
The BlueClaws scored their first run via a solo home run from leadoff hitter Juan Villavicencio. Jersey Shore only grabbed three more hits and one more run from innings two through seven.
Hudson Valley is 6-8 overall against Jersey Shore, 4-4 at Heritage Financial Park, and 0-2 in the second half.
The win improved the Renegades to 17-16 in the second half of the season, maintaining an above .500 record.
RHP Sean Paul Liñan (7.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR) completed 6.0-or-more innings for the fifth time in his career and became the third Renegades starter to pitch into the eighth inning this season, joining Jack Cebert and Rory Fox.
Liñan completed 5.0 innings in an outing for the first time since 5/9 vs Winston-Salem, a stretch of 10 games.
After allowing a leadoff home run, Liñan allowed just four more hits. Following the leadoff homer by Juan Villavicencio he walked Nate Humphreys and then retired the next four batters he faced.
Liñan struck out more than five batters for the first time since 5/22 when he struck out 10 at Brooklyn.
Liñan struck out 5+ batters in seven of his first 10 outings. Since then, he’s struck out 5+ just once in seven outings.
Liñan needed just 55 pitches to work through six innings. He threw 16 pitches in the first and then threw fewer than 10 in each of the next five. Liñan ended up throwing more than 70 pitches for just a sixth time this season.
CF Camden Troyer (2-for-2, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB, SB) extended his team long hitting and on-base streaks to eight games.
Over the streak, Troyer is hitting .565/.621/.739 with a 1.360 OPS, 2B, HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 1 K, 3-for-3 SB.
Troyer hit his first home run since 6/16 and his eighth on the season. He is two homers away from being the sixth Renegade this season to reach double digits.
Troyer reached base every time he came up to the plate for a second time this season. The first was on 6/12 vs. Jersey Shore (2-for-2, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1-for-1 SB).
C Eric Genther (1-for-3, R, HBP, K) got hit by a pitch for the third time this series, increasing his season-long total to 25. Genther leads MiLB in HBP and has already set the Renegades single-season and career HBP mark.
Genther is 4-for-9 (.444) this week against Jersey Shore with 2 2B, R, 3 HBP.
As a catcher, Genther is battin .287/.406/.419 with a .825 OPS, 10 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 23 BB, 30 K.
1B Kyle West (1-for-4, 2B, RBI, R, K) extended his on-base streak to five games with an RBI double in the seventh.
West is batting .263/.333/.474 over the stretch with a .807 OPS, 2B, HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K.
SS Jackson Lovich (1-for-4, R, 3 K, SB) has hits in all three of his first High-A games.
DH Willy Montero (1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K) grabbed his first High-A hit of his career with a two-run single in the fourth which put the Renegades in front.
RF Gabriel Lara (1-for-3, K) has hits in his first two High-A games.
RHP Brandon Decker (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) grabbed his first save of the season.