Through six innings tonight, RHP Cody Martin held the Wilmington Blue Rocks without a single hit. It wasn’t until the the seventh that Angel Franco broke up the no-no with a weak liner into left field. Martin finished seven scoreless, and the Hillcats held on to win 1-0.
Martin shot out of the gate with three straight strikeouts in the bottom of the first inning.
Neither team had much going on at the plate through the first five frames. Martin walked two in a row with one out in the second inning but then induced a 6-3 double play to get out of the jam. That double play started a string of 13-straight retired for Martin. The streak and the no-hitter was then broken up with the first batter in the seventh.
All the while, RHP Jason Adam, eight-rated prospect for the Royals, was pitching a gem of his own. He kept the Hillcats scoreless through five innings. His infield committed a pair of errors in the third inning, but Adam induced two fly outs to center field to escape unharmed. Then, in the fourth, he walked two, but the Hillcats left two on the bases again. Lynchburg left 10 runners on the bases through out the game, leaving at least one runner in seven of their nine chances.
The sixth inning saw the one and only run in the ball game. Lynchburg’s designated hitter Tim Smith took the first pitch he saw from Adam and lifted it over the right-center field wall. The Hillcats led 1-0.
After Martin surrendered two hits in the seventh inning, and saw his pitch count eclipse the century mark, manager Luis Salazar went to the bullpen in the eighth.
LHP Chasen Shreve sat down the side in order, striking out one in the bottom of the eighth inning. RHP Juan Jaime then entered in the ninth. He blew away Alex McClure with three fast balls, got Whit Merrifield swinging on a curveball, and finally Franco grounded out to second base to end the game. Shreve recorded his fifth hold of the season, while Jaime earned his fourth save in as many opportunities.
The Hillcats staff completed their second shut out of the season. Their first came on April 27 on the road in Frederick. The final score of that game was also 1-0. The lone run in that contest, a solo homer for former Hillcat Evan Gattis.
Lynchburg is now 18-12 on the season and remain in first place. They have won four in a row, which is their best stretch since winning the first five games of the season.
Tomorrow, the Hillcats will seek their third sweep of the season as they wrap-up a three-game set in Wilmington. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm. RHP Gus Schlosser (3-1, 5.50) will start for Lynchburg against RHP Sugar Ray Marimon (2-0, 2.88) for the Blue Rocks. The Hillcats On-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:10pm. Listen live to all the action on 105.5 FM KD Country and online at lynchburg-hillcats.com
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