HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point took command of its series with the York Revolution, as the Rockers won their second straight game with an 8-5 victory at Truist Point on Sunday afternoon.
While the Rockers won their 39th game of the first half and improved to 39-19, High Point did not have any defense for the Gastonia Honey Hunters who scored a walk-off win over Southern Maryland for the second straight day. Gastonia continues to hold onto first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division with a 41-18 record and hold a 1.5 game lead over the Rockers with five games remaining.
The Rockers sent Jheyson Manzueta to the mound for his second start of the season and the veteran right hander got off to a shaky start. Trent Giambrone led off the game with a homer and Manzueta followed by walking Jacob Rhinesmith and hitting Troy Stokes, Jr. with a pitch. Trey Martin singled to score Rhinesmith for the second run of the inning before Manzueta was able to pitch himself out of the jam.
“Manzueta limited the damage in the first inning and that’s just what we needed him to do,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “After the second inning, I just made him pitch from the stretch. It was really hot out and if you can limit your movement, that’s what we tried to do. He grinded through it and that was good.”
The Rockers cut their defcit to 2-1 as Shed Long, Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a sharp single to left before York starter Carlos Espinal walked Michael Russell. Each runner advanced on a stolen base which led to Daikan Yoh’s sacrifice fly to center to score Long, Jr. The Rockers scored three more runs in the second to take a 4-2 lead. Ben Aklinski and Brian Parreira each drew a walk and then advanced on a stolen base. Yang delivered a sac fly to tie the game ahead of RBI singles from Long, Jr. and Zander Wiel.
Aklinski put the Rockers up 5-2 in the third with a solo homer, his eighth of the year.
York inched closer with single runs in the sixth and seventh. Richard Urena drew a walk from reliever Austin Ross in the sixth and scored on an RBI single by Ryan January. In the seventh, Troy Stokes, Jr. singled to right and the ball took a crazy spin, getting past rightfielder Michael Martinez, allowing Stokes, Jr. to move to second. He then scored on an RBI single from Trey Martin.
Holding a slim 5-4 advantage in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Grotjohn coaxed a lead-off walk from York reliever Tasker Strobel and the Revs’ shortstop, Giambrone, misplayed a grounder from Aklinski to put two aboard with nobody out. Parreira then smacked a three-run homer to left to put the Rockers back in front 8-4.
For Parreira, it’s been an exciting month. He hit a three-run homer vs. So. Maryland on June 25 that helped sink the Blue Crabs 6-4. His homer on Sunday increased the Rockers’ lead from a nail-biting one run advantage for a far more comfortable four-run gap.
“Parreira had a heckuva day,” said Keefe. “Not only is he doing good stuff offensively, but he’s probably raised his batting average 50 or 60 points over the last two weeks with all the work he’s doing with (hitting coach) George (Greer). Defensively, he’s been awesome. He’s really grabbed onto this job and taken off with it.”
York’s Nellie Rodriguez hit a solo homer leading off the eighth but the Revs were finished scoring for the day. A.J. Cole allowed one hit in the ninth and struck out one to earn his first save of the season.
The Rockers have five games remaining in the first half and will have the opportunity to shave a half-game off Gastonia’s lead on Monday as the Honey Hunters are idle.
The fourth and final game of the series will be played on Monday, July 3 at 6:35 at Truist Point. Following the game, the Rockers will hold their annual fireworks extravaganza. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr App.
