Doughboys shut out by Sock Puppets

Nolasco and Johnson strike out 14, but don’t receive any run support

August 1st, 2021

Despite benefitting from some dominant pitching on the mound, Johnson City fell on the road Saturday night, 2-0, in Burlington.

Johnson City’s Carlos Nolasco and Marques Johnson combined for 14 strikeouts and just one walk, allowing just two runs on four hits, but did not get any run support from a cold Doughboys lineup.

The result finishes the Johnson City-Burlington series this summer at one win, one tie, and two losses for the Doughboys.

The previous high for strikeouts in a game this season for Nolasco was two, but he pounded the zone to the tune of eight punchouts on Saturday. The Sock Puppets (17-29-2) tagged Nolasco for one run in the second inning and one run in the fifth inning before Johnson replaced the right-handed starter in the fifth with two outs and the bases loaded.

With the pressure at a fever pitch, Johnson struck out All-Star center fielder Benji Gilbert to keep the deficit at just two runs.

Johnson finished out the game for the Doughboys, ending his night after 3 ⅓ innings with no hits, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts.

Four Sock Puppets combined for the complete-game shutout on the mound, with Nick Gottilla leading the charge and earning the win after six innings with four strikeouts. Brady Huddlestun earned the save, tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

The Doughboys might have had their best chance to rally in the eighth inning when Ricky Jimenez doubled down the left-field line with two outs to put the tying run at the plate in the form of All-Star first baseman Joe Vetrano. However, Vetrano lined out to center field to end the threat.

Johnson City is now 2-3 on the current six-game road trip, with one more game to play. The Doughboys next travel to Greeneville to face the first-place Flyboys at Pioneer Park on Sunday evening. First pitch in the seven-inning contest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Fans can access live radio coverage of every Doughboys game this summer by visiting: https://www.mlb.com/appalachian-league/johnson-city/fans/audio-listen-live.