Morning Rundown: Greensboro clinches playoff spot, Zander Mueth throws five shutout
Greensboro clinches playoff spot with win. Zander Mueth pitches again in the complex
Needing either a win or a loss by Jersey Shore to clinch a playoff spot, Greensboro got both on Thursday, the last day of the first half of the season.
The Grasshoppers finished with a 39-26 record in the first half of the season, closing out strong with eight wins in their last 10 games, including four in a row.
They also easily finished with the best run differential, +93, with the next best time having a +67 mark (Jersey Shore).
Nick Cimillo helped fuel the offense, hitting a pair of home runs, now sitting at 12 on the season. Charles McAdoo also picked up two hits, one being a double. On the mound, Dominic Perachi tossed six one-hit innings while striking out seven, and Brandan Bidois pitched the ninth to collect his fourth save of the season.
Backed by another fantastic outing by Zander Mueth, the FCL Pirates pitched a collective shutout, blanking the Red Sox 1-0.
Mueth pitched five shutout innings, striking out seven batters while allowing just four hits and a walk. He picked up the win in his second straight start.
Over his last two outings, Mueth has combined to throw 10 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 14. The five innings/seven strikeouts are both career highs for him.
His ERA now sits at 1.95 through 27.2 innings pitched. Mueth has allowed more unearned runs (8) than earned (6). Walks have been somewhat of a problem (13%), but he has only issued three over his last 10 innings.
The strikeouts have been trending up, and he is currently punching out 26% of the batters he has faced.
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Top Exit Velocity
Malcom Nunez - IND - 106.8 mph - Double
Javier Rivas - BRD - 106.3 mph - Single
Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 103.5 mph - Groundout
Alika Williams - IND - 103.1 mph - Groundout
Seth Beer - IND - 1007.6 mph - Lineout
Top Pitch Velocity
Connor Sadzeck - IND - 98.3 mph
Connor Sadzeck - IND - 97.2 mph
Connor Sadzeck - IND - 97 mph
Connor Sadzeck - IND - 96.4 mph
Connor Sadzeck - IND - 95.8 mph
Most Whiffs
Jake Woodford - IND - 15
Dominic Perachi - GBO - 12
Sean Sullivan - ALT - 11
Hung-Leng Chang - BRD - 8
Garrett McMillan - BRD - 6
Indianapolis Indians - 0 vs Iowa Cubs - 1
Top Hitter - Alika Williams: 1-3, BB, 2B
Top Pitcher - Jake Woodford: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 6 K
Altoona Curve - 10 vs Bowie Baysox - 8
Top Hitter - Kervin Pichardo: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Justin Meis: 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 4 vs Hudson Valley Renegades - 2
Top Hitter - Nick Cimillo: 2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Top Pitcher - Dominic Perachi: 6 IP, H, 7 K
Bradenton Marauders - 2 vs Lakeland Flying Tigers - 4
Top Hitter - Jeral Toledo: 2-4, R, RBI
Top Pitcher - Hung-Leng Chang: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
FCL Pirates - 1 vs FCL Red Sox - 0
Top Hitter - Richard Ramirez: 1-3, R, 2B
Top Pitcher - Zander Mueth: 5 IP, 4 H, BB, 7 K
DSL Pirates Black - 4 vs DSL Dodgers Bautista - 16
Top Hitter - Frankeli Mesta: 2-4, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Jarlen De La Paz: IP, 2 BB, 2 K
DSL Pirates Gold - 2 vs DSL Dodgers Mega
Top Hitter - Jayden Kim: 1-2, R, BB
Top Pitcher - Adolfo Oviedo: 5 IP, H, BB, 2 K
As an alum of the same HS as Mueth, I was psyched about the pick. Kid is looking very promising so far!
New sheetz sponsorship pushes a trade through: LouBob, tommy pham, and LHRP tanner banks from the white sox for bubba, termarr, solo, and lonnie white jr