The Harrisburg Senators evened up their series with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Wednesday night, taking the second game of their series in Manchester, 2-1.
Darian Sandford put the Senators on the board in the first, stealing second and third before a sacrifice fly from Jose Marmolejos brought him home.
Marmolejos came across the plate three innings later, brought home by a Neftali Soto grounder to second.
Jonathan Davis recorded New Hampshire’s first run, getting on base with his 11th double of the year and eventually coming across the plate thanks to a Danny Jansen line drive single to left.
However, that’s all New Hampshire would get, if not for a want of trying. The Fisher Cats would leave runners in scoring position in each of the next three innings, with Jansen coming within 90 feet of tying the game in the eighth.
In the end, Harrisburg limited the Fisher Cats to just six hits over the evening, three during the six innings pitched by starter Wirkin Estevez and one a piece by relievers Brady Dragmire, Phillips Valdez and Ryan Brinley, with all three pitchers going an inning each.
Estevez (2-0) got credit for the win, striking out eight Fisher Cat batters, while Brinley earned his fifth save of the year.
Two of those six hits came from Andrew Guillotte, extending his hitting streak to six games. The two hits also gave Guillotte his third straight multi-hit game as well.
Sandford and Alec Keller each had two hits for Harrisburg, half of the Senators’ eight hits on the evening. Francisco Rios (3-4) allowed three of those eight hits in his five innings of work in what appeared to be a full rebound from his recent shoulder injury.
The appearance was Rios’ first start of five innings or more, the threshold for win eligibility, since May 1.
New Hampshire is now 8-16 on the year in innings decided by a run. At 29-40, they’re also now tied with Harrisburg for the worst record in the Eastern League.
The two cellar dwellers will meet in the rubber match of the series on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Shane Dawson (1-6, 5.43 ERA) takes the mound for New Hampshire against Harrisburg’s John Simms (2-4, 3.68 ERA).
