The first road trip of 2019 has now concluded for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Where do they stand?
It’s April 17, 2019 and here’s a look on what’s happening for the boys looking to make the jump 400 Miles to Toronto.
Thursday, Apr. 11 – Hartford 10, New Hampshire 5 (road)
Friday, Apr. 12 – New Hampshire 4, Hartford 2 (road)
Saturday, Apr. 13 – Hartford 9, New Hampshire 6 (road)
Sunday, Apr. 14 – Hartford 3, New Hampshire 2 (road)
Monday, Apr. 15 – Binghamton 4, New Hampshire 1 (road)
Tuesday, Apr. 16 – New Hampshire 4, Binghamton 1 (road)
Wednesday, Apr. 17 – New Hampshire 10, Binghamton 4 (road)
Offensive Struggles Continue
One thing that would have been almost unthinkable last year: the Fisher Cats did not outhit Hartford or Binghamton during this entire trip, even in their three victories.
There are rays of light on that front, like the 10-run performance highlighted with Santiago Espinal’s grand slam on Wednesday or the fact that in five of those seven games, the Fisher Cats scored in the first inning and they managed to score first in the other two games as well.
Overall though, there is still work that needs to be done.
As a team, the Fisher Cats are hitting an anemic .219 as of the conclusion of the road trip, with a combined six home runs as a team. To put that into perspective, league leader Rhett Wiseman of Harrisburg already has eight.
Hopefully warmer weather will help New Hampshire’s bats, as four of the road trip’s game began with temperatures under 60 degrees, with Monday’s contest going as low as 39 degrees at the start, which began after an hour an hour delay.
Erratic Pitching
Even though the offense struggled, it did manage to clump together hits enough opportune times that they can return home close to .500
On the other side of the ball, New Hampshire’s pitching was all over the place.
Perhaps no one better personified this than Hector Perez, who gave up seven runs in three innings on Thursday against Hartford, followed by no runs in five innings on Monday against Binghamton. Of course, he also gave up two runs in 2 1/3 innings against Binghamton last week.
If there is a staff ace at this point, it’s Zach Logue. The Ohio-born southpaw is only 1-0, but easily could be at 3-0 right now if he got slightly more run support and possibly a chance to get above 90 pitches on Friday.
On Deck
The Fisher Cats return to host six games this week, with a break for Easter breaking up their two guests.
First, New Hampshire will face Hartford for a three-game set starting on Thursday. Then, Trenton comes to town for games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All six games are set to start at 6:35 p.m.
Fisher Cats of the Week
Batting: Alberto Mineo (10-for-25, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B)
Starting Pitching: Zach Logue (1-0, 9 IP, 14 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 8 Ks)
Relief Pitching: Kirby Snead (2 SV, 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 Ks)
