Manchester Ink Link is simulating the entire 2020 New Hampshire Fisher Cats season as we wait for the real baseball to return.
Today we enter Week 19.
In case you missed it, here’s are our previous stories on the Fisher Cats’ simulated season so far.
- Pre-season
- Week 1 (end-of-week record: 2-4)
- Week 2 (end-of-week record: 5-8)
- Week 3 (end-of-week record: 9-11)
- Week 4 (end-of-week record: 11-17)
- Week 5 (end-of-week record: 13-22)
- Week 6 (end-of-week record: 16-24)
- Week 7 (end-of-week record: 19-27)
- Week 8 (end-of-week record: 21-33)
- Week 9 (end-of-week record: 23-36)
- Week 10 (end-of-week record: 24-40)
- Week 11 (end-of-week record: 28-45)
- Week 12 (end-of-week record: 31-49)
- Week 13 (end-of-week record: 33-53)
- Week 14 (end-of-week record: 37-55)
- Week 15 (end-of-week record: 39-60)
- Week 16 (end-of-week record: 43-63)
- Week 17 (end-of-week record: 47-65)
- Week 18 (end-of-week record: 48-70)
Tuesday, Aug. 18 – Binghamton 7, New Hampshire 4
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Just over 2,400 fans were treated to a beautiful summer night and Binghamton five unanswered early runs in yet another Fisher Cats loss.
New Hampshire did put up ten hits of their own over the contest, with Josh Palacios, Otto Lopez, Brock Lundquist and Mac James each grabbing two before all was said and done.
Palacios and Deiferson Barreto each had a double and Brock Lundquist had a home run in the third, his fourth in five games.
Graham Spraker was saddled with his first loss of the year, allowing five runs off nine hits and three walks, striking out five batters before leaving after four innings.
New Hampshire had five pitchers take the mound, with James Dykstra leaving after eight pitches after suffering an undisclosed injury.
On Monday, Roemon Fields returned to New Hampshire for the second time this season after recording just three hits in six appearances after returning to Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 9. He did not appear in Tuesday’s contest.
Wednesday, Aug. 19 – Binghamton 7, New Hampshire 4
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Patrick Murphy’s struggles continued as the Rumble Ponies tagged him for five runs in the fifth, enough to hand New Hampshire their fifth-straight loss.
Murphy (2-9) didn’t give up a run over the first four innings of his start, but couldn’t escape the fifth, with three of the five runs coming from Will Toffey’s homer.
Things came to a head when Murphy hit Quinn Brodey in the back with a fastball, leading to a benches clearing brawl. Murphy was ejected and after the game the Eastern League announced that he will be suspended for nine games. Brodey will miss four games after he charged the mound.
At the plate, New Hampshire mustered just five hits, with two from Josh Palacios, two from Brock Lundquist and a home run from Otto Lopez.
Thursday, Aug. 20 – New Hampshire 10, Binghamton 2
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Every New Hampshire batter had at least one hit as the Fisher Cat bats helped avoid a sweep at the hands of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Mac James led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, three runs and a walk, with Riley Adams and Deiferson Barreto also adding two hits each in the win.
Josh Palacios notched his 30th double of the year, approaching injured teammate Alejandro Kirk for the league lead. He wasn’t alone, James, Brock Lundquist and Gabriel Guerrero also knocked doubles for the Fisher Cats in the win.
Starter Thomas Pannone allowed just one run, a homer to Jeremy Vasquez. Pannone (6-8) went five innings, with four other hits outside of Vasquez’s dinger, but no walks and seven strikeouts.
At the beginning of the day, James Dykstra’s injury from Aug. 18 was diagnosed as a strained back muscle. He will be day-to-day for approximately a week.
Friday, Aug. 21 – New Hampshire 10, Altoona 6
MANCHESTER, N.H. – For the second straight game, the Fisher Cats got a hit out of every starting batter, due in large part to a six-run eighth inning that sealed their win.
The six-run rally came in response to Altoona’s five runs earlier in the eighth, with the Fisher Cats slowly wearing down reliever Jaron Long.
Long needed more than half a dozen pitches three times over the inning, with Forrest Wall fouling off five straight pitches before he was finally retired on a nine-pitch at-bat. Gabriel Guerrero scored two runs off a double as Long tired and Riley Adams would crush a three-run homer to the patio of the Hilton Garden Inn in left-center field to cap off the offensive assault.
New Hampshire ended with four home runs on the day, with Kevin Smith, Ryan Noda and Brock Lundquist also going deep in addition to Adams’ first homer of the year. Lundquist and Noda also joined Otto Lopez with two hits.
Due to Altoona’s five runs in the eighth, Anthony Kay did not factor into the decision despite a quality start. Kay gave up just one run over six innings of work, giving up three hits and two walks, striking out five batters in the process.
Instead, the win went to reliever Kyle Regnault, who is now 2-1 on the year. Regnault recorded the last four outs of the game for New Hampshire, giving up two hits and a walk, striking out three.
The Fisher Cats are now 9-9 for August.
Saturday, Aug. 22 – New Hampshire 1, Altoona 0
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Fisher Cats earned their first shutout since June 4 thanks to a masterful start from Andrew Sopko and strong relief from Curtis Taylor and Kyle Regnault.
Sopko (5-8) threw seven innings for the first time this season, scattering eight hits and four walks while striking out five Altoona batters.
Taylor and Regnault held Curve bats at bay as each threw an inning to cap the victory.
The contest’s only run came in the second when Chavez Young reached base on a double and then scored from second off a Gabriel Guerrero double.
Deiferson Barreto and Brock Lundquist also finished the contest with doubles.
Sunday, Aug. 23 – Altoona 11, New Hampshire 7
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Six runs in the first inning proved too much to overcome as the Fisher Cats saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Although the Fisher Cats managed even the game up at 6-6 thanks to a three-run homer by Brock Lundquist, the Curve responded with home runs by Bligh Madris and Lucas Tancris in the fifth and sixth respectively to put the Curve ahead for good.
Graham Spraker left after four innings of work, on the hook for the six early runs and Madris’ leadoff homer in the fifth. Spraker (1-2) gave up seven hits and two walks in total, striking out two as well.
At the plate, New Hampshire returned to the trend they saw earlier in the week as every batter had at last one hit, with Mac James and Otto Lopez grabbing two hits each and Gabriel Guerrero going 3-for-5. Josh Palacios hit his 31st double of the year, with Chavez Young and Christian Williams also grabbing two-baggers.
Batter of the Week: Brock Lundquist – Lundquist hit three home runs for the second straight week, going 9-for-25 (.360) with eight RBI, two doubles and six runs scored.
Pitcher of the Week: Andrew Sopko – Sopko is still feeling the effects of the mild calf strain he suffered earlier this month, but he turned in a second scoreless start in a row on Aug. 22 and has a 1.01 ERA over his three Eastern League starts in August.
