Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/31

Judge's Offense Not Enough Against Tourists

Judge homers, drives in all four RiverDogs runs in Charleston's fourth straight loss

CHARLESTON, SC - All four Charleston RiverDogs runs were driven in by Aaron Judge, including his sixth home run of the season, but the Asheville Tourists secured an 8-4 victory on Saturday night in front of 3,922 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action.

Charleston is now 27-28 while Asheville jumps to 31-23. The Tourists have won this series with three victories against the RiverDogs and can earn a sweep with a win in Sunday's finale.

Asheville grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Raimel Tapia reached on a two-out single against Ian Clarkin and scored during a triple to center field by Ryan McMahon.

The RiverDogs answered by surging ahead 2-1 in their half of the opening inning. Jose Rosario singled and Jackson Valera doubled off Zach Jemiola, putting runners in scoring position. Judge doubled to bring in Rosario and Valera to put Charleston in the lead.

Clarkin retired eight straight batters after McMahon's triple until the Tourists got rolling in the fourth. McMahon had a one-out single and moved to second base after a two-out walk to Jordan Patterson. Jose Briceno drove in McMahon during a single that tied the game at 2-2.

In the fifth, David Dahl blasted Asheville to a 3-2 advantage. Dahl sent a drive to right field that just cleared the wall for a go-ahead home run. It was Dahl's ninth round-tripper this season.

The Tourists strengthened their lead during the top of the seventh. After two straight walks from Rony Bautista, Cesar Vargas came in and fielded a sacrifice bunt that moved Cesar Galvez and Dahl into scoring position. Raimel Tapia grounded out and Ryan McMahon had an 0-1 count when a wild pitch was thrown. Galvez was hit by the throw to home plate before he scored, and the deflection allowed Dahl to score to give Asheville a 5-2 lead.

Judge closed Charleston's gap to 5-4 with an eighth-inning home run. Valera received a four-pitch walk from Daniel Palo before Judge homered to center field for his sixth shot of the year. Mike Ford singled and Miguel Andujar walked to continue the scoring threat, and John Murphy's sacrifice bunt against Andrew Brown pushed the runners up a base. However, Briceno picked Tyler Wade off third base and Brown finished the inning with a strikeout.

After escaping the eighth with a lead, Asheville extended the lead to 8-4 in the ninth. A two-out single from Tapia, coupled with an error, brought in Ashley Graeter and Galvez for a three-run lead. Tapia reached second base on the play and scored when McMahon singled.

Jemiola evened his record at 5-5 with the victory. Clarkin recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in a loss to fall to 1-3. Brown earned his first professional save.

BALLPARK FUN: The City of Charleston's annual picnic was held at The Joe, with Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. announcing that Gary Smith and Gary Smalls were the Employees of the Year. The SweetRight Brothers performed several routines during the game as the featured ballpark entertainment. Groundskeeper Mike Williams worked his 44th game this month at The Joe, the most Williams has covered in any month in his 22-year professional career.

COMING UP: The finale of this four-game series is Sunday match-up between Charleston LHP Caleb Smith (4-3, 1.51 ERA) and Asheville RHP Antonio Senzatela (5-1, 3.90 ERA). First pitch on Sunday is at 5:05pm. Bark for Your Brew at 3pm precedes the ballgame, featuring a craft beer sampling at The Joe that fans can attend with their dog. The homestand finale is another CCPRC and Crews Subaru Kids Club Sunday, presented by Y102.5, Dog Day, Seersucker Sunday, and Luau Night. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide on www.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs, the original post can be seen HERE.