PALMS FLIP THE SCRIPT, POWER PAST BREWERS 5–2

 By Vin Castillo, Miami Herald Coastal Edition Beat Writer

It only took 24 hours for the Miami Palms to turn frustration into fire. After being held to two runs in Friday’s loss, the Palms returned the favor Saturday night at Coca-Cola Palms Park, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5–2 behind Dylan Bundy’s best outing in weeks and a pair of long balls from Nick Markakis and Matt Koch.

A FRESH START

Bundy, who’d been searching for consistency since mid-April, found a rhythm early. Mixing his fastball and changeup beautifully, he held Milwaukee scoreless through five innings and didn’t issue a walk all night.

“It was all about tempo,” Bundy said afterward. “When I’m getting quick outs, it’s a good sign I’m trusting my stuff again.”

Bundy went six strong, allowing just one run on five hits with six strikeouts.

THE BIG INNING

The Palms struck in the third when Yairo Muñoz singled with two outs. Frank Sohn drew a walk, and Nick Markakis got just enough of a hanging curve to send it over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, his seventh of the year.

The crowd of over 25,000 roared as Markakis jogged home—his homer not only broke the scoreless tie but gave the Palms a jolt of confidence that had been missing in recent games.

“That was the loudest we’ve heard this place in a while,” said manager Scott Hatteberg. “Marky got every bit of that one.”

ADDING ON

Milwaukee clawed back with solo shots from Ben Gamel and Avisail Garcia, but the Palms added breathing room in the 7th when Koch launched a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole, extending the lead to 5–2.

That was more than enough for the bullpen trio of Cody Allen, Jeremy Jeffress, and Chris Martin, who combined to retire nine of the final ten batters. Martin earned his 15th save with a calm, efficient ninth.

BOX SCORE BULLETS

  • Markakis: 1-for-4, HR (7), 3 RBI

  • Koch: 1-for-3, HR (2), 2 RBI

  • Bundy: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K (W, 2–4)

  • Martin: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 R (S, 15)

LOOKING AHEAD

The win snapped Milwaukee’s brief momentum and gave the Palms a chance to take the series on Sunday. At 26–22, Miami remains in the thick of the American League wild card chase.

“We’ve been in every game this week,” Hatteberg said. “If we keep throwing like this and get timely power, we’ll be in good shape.”


Sunday’s series finale: Erick Fedde takes the hill for the Palms against Milwaukee’s Adam Hauser in the rubber match. 

 Miami Palms 5, Milwaukee Brewers 2

 Saturday, May 16, 2020

 

 Milwaukee Brewers (1-1)                                  Miami Palms (26-22)                                     

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Sogaard 3b      4  0  0  0  0  1  0  3  0  0   .250      Sohn cf         3  1  1  0  1  0  6  0  0  0   .278

 Garcia rf       4  1  2  1  0  0  5  0  0  0   .500      Markakis lf     4  1  1  3  0  1  2  0  0  2   .308

 Hiura 2b        4  0  2  0  0  1  0  5  0  0   .222      Grant 1b        4  0  0  0  0  0  6  0  0  0   .262

 Yelich lf       3  0  0  0  1  1  1  0  0  1   .286      Korb 3b         4  0  1  0  0  0  1  1  0  0   .286

 Narvaez c       4  0  1  0  0  0  3  0  0  1   .250      Encarnacion dh  4  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .276

 Urias ss        4  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  1   .000      Wieters c       4  0  0  0  0  1  7  0  0  1   .247

 Smoak 1b        4  0  0  0  0  2  12 0  0  1   .125      Holt rf         3  1  1  0  0  0  3  0  0  1   .243

 Gamel cf        3  1  1  1  0  0  1  0  0  1   .429      Koch 2b         3  1  1  2  0  0  2  0  0  0   .225

 Beckham dh      3  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   .000      Munoz ss        3  1  2  0  0  0  0  2  0  0   .310

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          33 2  6  2  1  7  24 9  0  5             Totals          32 5  8  5  1  2  27 5  0  4  

 

 

                           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9      R  H  E

                           -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Milwaukee Brewers         0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0      2  6  0  

 Miami Palms               0  0  3  0  0  0  2  0         5  8  0  

 

 

 

 LOB- Milwaukee Brewers 5, Miami Palms 4; 2B- Hiura 2(2), Munoz(9); HR- Gamel(2), Garcia(1),

 Koch(2), Markakis(7); RBI- Gamel(3), Garcia(1), Koch 2(9), Markakis 3(18); RLSP- Smoak,

 Urias, Narvaez, Markakis;  

 

  

  

 

 

 Milwaukee Brewers            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Black(L 0-1)                 8.0  8  5  5  1  2    5.63  

 

 Miami Palms                  IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Bundy(W 2-4)                 6.0  5  1  1  0  6    5.04  

 Allen(H,6)                   1.0  1  1  1  0  1    4.97  

 Jeffress(H,4)                1.0  0  0  0  0  0    2.89  

 Martin(S,15)                 1.0  0  0  0  1  0    2.12  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Black 78-52, Bundy 76-49, Allen 12-8, Jeffress 14-8, Martin 17-11;

 Batters faced- Black 33, Bundy 23, Allen 4, Jeffress 3, Martin 4; 


  

 

  

 Temp - 87, Sky - Moslty clear, Wind - WSW 10mph 

 

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