Robertson’s homer salvages Fisher Cats’ victory

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Will Robertson. Photo/Kristin Basnett

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats couldn’t hold onto an early lead but managed to come back off Will Robertson’s eighth-inning home run to secure an 9-8 victory over the Reading Fightin’ Phils on Tuesday night.

Leo Jimenez sparked a four-run first inning for the ‘Cats, bringing home Miguel Hiraldo on his fourth double of the year. Jimenez reached third on the first of two Reading errors on the night and he came home along with Robertson on a Phil Clarke double, with Riley Tirotta’s triple bringing home Clarke.

While Reading took a run back in the second, Tirotta added a two-run homer in the third and Steward Berroa would come across the plate in the fourth to give New Hampshire a five-run lead.

New Hampshire began to slip in the sixth as Adrian Hernandez allowed two Reading runs and Fisher Cat closer entered the contest early as Hernandez began to falter, loading the bases. Watson immediately allowed a two-run single to Herbert Iser, leading to five Reading runs before the side was retired.

Although the Fisher Cats would load the bases themselves in the bottom of the seventh, Hiraldo’s strikeout left New Hampshire looking for heroics they would find later with Robertson’s blast.

Connor Cooke (1-0) earned his first win of the year, following what was Watson’s third blown save of the year with two innings of scoreless relief.

The Fisher Cats finished with 11 hits on the night, receiving multi-hit evenings from Robertson, Clarke and Tirotta, with Tirotta finishing only a double short of what would have been the third cycle in Fisher Cats history.

Steward Berroa also added his tenth double of the year.

New Hampshire (23-22) is back at it on Wednesday with a 11:35 a.m. contest as Fisher Cat righthander Sem Robberse (0-4, 4.95 ERA) takes on Reading’s Victor Vargas (0-0, 7.36 ERA).

Earlier in the day, the FIsher Cats welcomed welcomed infielder T.J Brock and right-handed pitcher Rainer Nunez from High-A Vancouver, joining the team after right-handed pitcher Hagen Danner got the call up to Triple-A Buffalo.

Danner, the Blue Jays No. 22 prospect according to MLB.com, made 12 relief appearances for the Fisher Cats the past two seasons. In eight outings this year, he posted a 3.00 ERA over nine innings, striking out 16 batters with just two walks allowed.

Nunez is the No. 26 prospect in Toronto’s farm system. In 37 games with the Canadians to begin the season, he slashed .309/.390/446 with three home runs, 26 RBIs, and 12 extra-base hits. Last season, he had a .304 batting average with a career-high 19 home runs and 82 RBIs between Single-A Dunedin and Vancouver.

The 22-year-old Dominican was signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent on July 5, 2017.

Brock, a 23-year-old, posted a 4-0 record with a 1.77 ERA in 15 relief appearances with Vancouver the first two months of this season. He allowed just four runs on eight hits in 20.1 innings with 31 strikeouts, and went a perfect 4-for-4 in save situations. Brock was selected by the Blue Jays in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Ohio State University.

 

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.