KANNAPOLIS, NC: Another morning start saw Augusta’s offense struggling to wake up, as they mustered just two hits in a losing effort while committing a pair of crucial errors to push the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in front for good.
Try as they might, the GreenJackets could not solve Christian Oppor, as the lefty dazzled the education day crowd to the tune of five scoreless innings with just one hit and six strikeouts.
Augusta’s only knock off Oppor came from Owen Carey’s leadoff single in the 4th, and Carey would end up stranded at 3rd. The Jackets tried to spark a rally in the 5th off Oppor, but a bullet from Mason Guerra became a 5-4-3 double play to minimize the threat.
Righty Luke Sinnard cruised through his first two innings, but ran into misfortune in the 3rd as he was tagged for three unearned runs.
After a leadoff groundout, Arnold Prado reached on an E4, and a possible inning-ending double play ball ricocheted off Colby Jones at 3rd for an E5 on the next batter. Kannapolis would take quick advantage, using RBI singles from Abraham Nunez and Javier Mogollon to secure a 3-0 lead.
Sinnard gave up one more run in the 4th, with doubles from Calvin Harris and Jorge Corona giving Sinnard his only earned run of the day. Nevertheless, the big starter would be saddled with his second pro loss despite five solid innings.
Manager Chad Pinder put his bullpen to good use, tossing four relievers in four innings to keep the Jackets at bay. Augusta broke the shutout in the 6th against Liam Paddack, as John Gil walked, stole second, and scored on a single from Isaiah Drake. Drake’s single was the second and last hit of the day, as for the second game in a row Augusta was hitless in the final three innings.
The GreenJackets’ best chance to get back into the game in the 7th against Jonathan Clark, as he walked back to back hitters to start the inning. But Clark dropped a sinker in to Carlos Monteverde, who squibbed a back-breaking double play to eliminate the rally. Manuel Veloz and Pierce George each posted zeroes, and Augusta fell to the Cannon Ballers for the second straight day.
The GreenJackets and Cannon Ballers are both now 13-10 on the year, each a game and a half out of first in the South Division. The loss wastes a strong relief performance from David Rodriguez, who worked three scoreless innings and saved the bullpen for the rest of the week. Augusta is back in action tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., looking for its first win of the series behind Logan Samuels in his 2nd start.
