Even though the real-world baseball season is on hold for now, Manchester Ink Link is simulating the 2020 New Hampshire Fisher Cats season through the magic of Out of the Park Baseball 2021.
Here’s a look at Week 2. In case you missed it, here was our look at the team’s opening day roster , and the Fisher Cats’ 2-4 start against Reading and Trenton.
All stats and player quotes come directly OOTP engine.
Thursday, April 16 – New Hampshire 6, Hartford 2
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Fisher Cats’ open their home campaign in style, thanks in large part to a huge day at the plate from Brock Lundquist.
Lundquist went 2-for-3 with a walk and five RBI, with his hits in fourth and sixth finding their way out of the ballpark, with Ben Revere also providing New Hampshire a homer in the third for good measure.
“We need to string a few more wins like this one together,” said Lundquist.
Also of note at the plate for New Hampshire, Josh Palacios put together a pair of hits in the leadoff role while Alejandro Kirk and Forest Wall each provided doubles.
Despite allowing a pair of Yard Goat home runs, Fisher Cats starting pitcher Anthony Kay (1-0) came up just short of the complete game, scattering six hits and a walk in eight innings of work, striking out eight Hartford batters.
Sean Wymer retired the side in order in the ninth for his third save of the year.
The Fisher Cats also saw 3,691 fans head through the gates, just under a hundred less than their 2019 opener against Binghamton.
Friday, April 17 – Hartford 6, New Hampshire 4
MANCHESTER, N.H. – After three 2018 losses at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, Hartford hurler Jesus Tinoco got his first victory within the Granite State thanks to a strong seven-inning performance.
He was helped by five early Yard Goat runs, highlighted by a three-run homer by Herlis Rodriguez in the second and a solo shot by Drew Weeks in the first.
New Hampshire starter Andrew Sopko (0-1) left after four innings, allowing four more hits beyond the pair of homers.
Alejandro Kirk went deep in the third off Tinoco for his third home run of the year, Forest Wall also added his second double of the series in the fourth.
Earlier in the day, Cullen Large earned a trip to Triple-A Buffalo after his torrid start, replaced by 2019 Fisher Cat alum Logan Warmoth, coming up from Advanced-A Dunedin.
Saturday, April 18 – Hartford 8, New Hampshire 4
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Despite a 3-for-5 day from Josh Palacios and two-hit performances from Ben Revere and Alejandro Kirk, the Fisher Cats couldn’t find enough offense to salvage a victory against the Yard Goats.
Palacios and Kirk each had a pair of doubles, but the ‘Cats left 12 men on base in the loss.
The game remained close until the seventh, when Hartford grabbed runs off New Hampshire reliever Chase Whitley. All four runs came unearned thanks to an error by Revere, Thomas Pannone allowed four earned runs during his five-inning start for the Fisher Cats.
With the loss, both teams are now 3-6, tied for last place in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division.
Sunday, April 19 – New Hampshire 9, Hartford 5
MANCHESTER, N.H. – In a game its two teams combine for 23 hits, the Fisher Cats made the most of their opportunities to split their home opening series.
The Yard Goats drew even in the top of the fifth after New Hampshire put two runs across the board in the fourth, but the ‘Cats responded in the bottom of the fifth with a seven-run barrage that saw 14 New Hampshire batters come to the plate.
Hartford got three consolation runs in the ninth off struggling reliever Joey Murray, but Chandler Shepard arrived with a pair of strike outs to get the Fisher Cats their 26th and 27th outs of the contest.
Sean Reid-Foley climbs to 2-0 with his five-inning start, allowing two runs off five hits and a walk while striking out six on 91 pitches.
At the plate, Ben Revere and Alejandro Kirk continued their torrid pace, with each contributing a pair of doubles. Revere now has a hit in each of his first nine Fisher Cat appearances and Kirk is sporting a six-game hitting streak.
It was also a big day for Logan Warmoth, he had a double and triple on the way to a three RBI day.
Prior to the game, the Fisher Cats gave local children participating in the team’s Reading Challenge to play catch on the field, but there were few takers with a nearly 20 mile per hour wind and near freezing weather prior to first pitch drawing just under 2,000 fans to the ballpark.
Monday, April 20 – Trenton 8, New Hampshire 7 (10)
MANCHESTER, N.H – Mountain Man Monday was spoiled as the Fisher Cats dropped their first extra-inning contest of the year.
A pair of Trenton singles in the tenth set the stage for Estevan Florial’s sac-fly RBI, a frustrating end to a game the ‘Cats could have pulled into the win column.
Fisher Cat starting pitcher Patrick Murphy kept the Thunder scoreless through the first five innings, but couldn’t escape the sixth without allowing a two-run homer to Josh Smith.
New Hampshire added two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth and grabbed two more in the sixth before Trenton tagged the Fisher Cat bullpen for five runs in the eighth.
Christian Williams’ three-run homer to right in the eighth knotted the contest back up, where it remained until Florial’s heroics.
Williams added another hit, knocking in four RBI and scoring a pair of runs. The hits were just his third and fourth respectively over his first nine appearances.
The Fisher Cats also went wild once again with doubles as Chavez Young grabbed one on his way to a three-hit day, Kevin Vicuña recorded his second double of the year and Kevin Smith bagged a two-RBI double in the sixth.
Forest Wall went 3-for-5, with Josh Palacios also adding a pair of walks in the loss for New Hampshire.
Tuesday, April 21 – New Hampshire 3, Trenton 1
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Anthony Kay took a no-hitter into the sixth, leading the way in New Hampshire’s fifth win of the year.
Sitting on a cushion from three early Fisher Cat runs, Kay gave up just two hits and a walk over his seven innings of work, both hits coming in a sixth inning that saw Trenton’s only run.
Turner Larkins retired the side in the eighth for his first hold of the year and Sean Wymer took the side down in order in the ninth for his fourth save of the year.
Josh Palacios had a double and a single, Ben Revere recorded two hits to bring his hitting streak up to 11 games and Alejandro Kirk had a hit and two walks.
Wednesday, April 22 – Trenton 5, New Hampshire 1
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Ryan Borucki drops to 0-2 on the year, giving the Thunder an early boost that the Fisher Cats could not overcome.
Borucki eventually calmed down, finishing with just three hits allowed over his five-inning start, but the pair of singles he allowed in the first provided Trenton with their first run and the two-run homer given up to Josh Smith in the second provided the visitors with what they would ultimately need for the win.
Trenton right-hander Deivi Garcia scattered four hits during his five-inning start, fanning seven Fisher Cat batters and walking three. He was on the hook for New Hampshire’s only run, scored by Christian Williams in the third.
Williams began the inning with a scorching 2-0 double to right centerfield, later coming home from second on a Ben Revere grounder that made its way into the outfield.
Trenton found a pair of runs in the ninth off New Hampshire relivers Brett Cecil and Chandler Shepard.
The ‘Cats also finished the day with a pair of errors, putting them at 14 so far on the season, more than any other Eastern League team.
In transaction news, Alexander Wimmers was sent down to Advanced-A Dunedin.
Player of the Week – Alejandro Kirk: It’s hard to vote against Ben Revere’s performance during the Fisher Cats’ first homestand, but it’s hard to disagree with the Eastern League for their decision to name Alejandro Kirk as Player of the Week on April 20.
The 21-year-old hit .400 (10-for-25) with three home runs and eight RBI during the ‘Cats series against Hartford and Trenton.
Pitcher of the Week – Anthony Kay: The former Rumble Pony currently leads the Fisher Cats in innings pitched and strikeouts thanks to his pair of gems this week.
