Wieters' Hat Trick Helps Palms Clip Yankees for First Win

 MIAMI — The Miami Palms’ offense finally delivered, and Matt Wieters made sure it stuck.

by Vin Castillo | Miami Sun Sentinel

Behind three towering home runs from the veteran catcher, the Palms edged the New York Yankees 7–6 Monday night at home, securing their first win of the 2020 season in a tense, back-and-forth affair.

“Sometimes you just need one guy to carry the load,” manager Scott Hatteberg said. “Tonight, that guy was Wiet.”

Wieters launched solo homers in the first, third, and fifth innings, accounting for four of Miami’s seven runs. His final blast proved to be the game-winner, as the Palms’ bullpen strung together four scoreless innings to preserve the lead.

The Palms (1–3) jumped all over Yankees starter J.A. Happ, tagging him for five runs on seven hits in the first inning. Brett Gardner started with a single, and by the time Wieters homered, and the energy at Cocin Miami was electric.

“I think we were all a little frustrated after that series with Minnesota,” Wieters said. “It felt good to put a crooked number up early.”

The Yankees didn’t go quietly. Gleyber Torres drove in his third run in the second to pull New York within a run, and Aaron Hicks tied the game in the third with an RBI single. But Miami kept answering, and Wieters’ third blast broke a 6–6 tie in the fifth.

Erick Fedde struggled in his start, allowing five runs over 2.1 innings, but six Palms relievers held the Yankees to one run the rest of the way. Adam Conley earned the win despite a blown save, while Chris Martin pitched a tense ninth for his first save of the year.

The Palms now look to build some momentum after an 0–3 start against the Twins. Blake Johnston will take the mound Tuesday against the Yankees' Jordan Montgomery.

Miami Palms 7, New York Yankees 6
Monday, March 30, 2020 – Miami, FL

New York Yankees (0–1)

Player           AB R H BI BB SO  AVG  
Hicks cf          5  0 2  2  0  0 .400  
Tauchman rf       5  2 1  0  0  1 .200  
Torres ss         5  1 1  3  0  0 .200  
Stanton lf        4  0 2  1  1  1 .500  
Sanchez c         5  0 1  0  0  3 .200  
Voit 1b           5  0 1  0  0  0 .200  
Andujar dh        5  2 3  0  0  1 .600  
LeMahieu 2b       5  0 5  0  0  0 1.000  
Urshela 3b        3  1 0  0  2  0 .000  
                 42 6 16 6  3  6

Miami Palms (1–3)


Player           AB R H BI BB SO  AVG  
Gardner cf        4  1 3  0  1  0 .529  
Markakis lf       5  1 1  0  0  0 .154  
Sohn rf           5  1 2  1  0  1 .375  
Korb 3b           4  0 0  0  0  1 .308  
Encarnacion dh    4  0 1  0  0  0 .125  
Koch 1b           4  1 1  2  0  0 .250  
Wieters c         4  3 3  4  0  0 .313  
Munoz ss          3  0 0  0  0  1 .333  
Gonzalez 2b       4  0 2  0  0  1 .417  
                 37 7 13 7  1  4

                                        R H E
NYY 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 6 16 0
MIA 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 x – 7 13 0

2B – Andujar 2, Sohn 2
3B – Koch
HR – Torres (1), Wieters 3 (3)
RBI – Hicks 2, Torres 3, Stanton; Koch 2, Wieters 4, Sohn
LOB – NYY 12, MIA 8
GIDP – Hicks
DP – Miami 1

Pitching
New York Yankees


Happ        1.0 IP  7 H 5 R 5 ER 0 BB 0 SO  45.00 ERA  
Otero       2.0     2   1   1    1     0      4.50  
Heller (L)  2.0     3   1   1    0     2      4.50  
Green       2.0     1   0   0    0     2      0.00  
Britton     1.0     0   0   0    0     0      0.00

Miami Palms

Fedde       2.1 IP  9 H 5 R 5 ER 2 BB 2 SO  19.29 ERA  
Morin       1.2     0   0   0    0     1      4.91  
Conley (W)  1.0     3   1   1    0     0     10.80  
Matusz (H)  1.0     1   0   0    1     1      0.00  
Jeffress(H) 1.0     1   0   0    0     0      0.00  
Allen (H)   1.0     0   0   0    0     1      0.00  
Martin (S)  1.0     2   0   0    0     1      0.00

HBP – Munoz (by Happ)
Weather – 81°F, Mostly Clear, Wind SE at 13 mph

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Palms Can’t Just “Patch and Pray” Anymore

  South Florida Sun-Beat Column by Rhys Thomason It’s been said often enough this spring that the Miami Palms have been snakebitten by injuries, and sure, that’s true. Brett Gardner’s hamstring, Jaspero Gonzalez’s wrist, Jarod Lantz’s shoulder — all of them are the kind of setbacks that could sink a team with less depth. But let’s be honest: relying on duct tape and good vibes to paper over holes isn’t a strategy. It’s negligence. Look at the infield. Matt Koch has been pressed into everyday duty at second base, and while he’s played hard, nobody in Coconut Coast camp ever dreamed he’d be logging this many starts in April. He’s a utility man being asked to survive as a keystone anchor. That’s not development, that’s desperation. Then there’s the lineup. Edwin Encarnación keeps finding ways to knock in runs, but where’s the support? Pat Grant’s homer in the Bronx was a bright spot, but there’s a lack of consistent firepower around the middle of the order. The front office’s answe...
Read more

Verdugo, Red Sox Pummel Palms in Series Opener

By Vin Castillo, Coca-Cola Palms Park  MIAMI — The Palms got a dose of reality Monday night, and it came in the form of a relentless Boston lineup and an untimely outburst from their veteran catcher. Alex Verdugo went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, and the Red Sox racked up 16 hits en route to a 7-1 win over the Miami Palms at Coca-Cola Palms Park. The loss snapped Miami’s four-game win streak and featured a forgettable debut for newly called-up reliever Allan Persons, who gave up three runs on five hits in a single inning of work. Boston wasted no time, tagging Palms starter Blake Johnston for three runs in the opening frame, thanks to a pair of RBI hits from Xander Bogaerts and Mitch Moreland. Johnston lasted just three innings, surrendering four earned runs, and took his second loss of the season. Miami’s lone highlight came in the bottom of the first when Jaspero Gonzalez drilled a solo home run—his seventh of the year—to cut the early deficit to 3-1. That would be all the offense...
Read more