TRENTON, NJ – New city, same result.
On Monday night, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats followed up their four-game sweep of the Hartford Yard Goats with yet another win, this one a 9-1 victory against the Trenton Thunder.
Trenton’s only run came in the first, a Bruce Caldwell sacrifice fly that scored Gosuke Katoh. However, that was only enough to tie up the contest, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sacrifice fly bringing home Jonathan Davis half an inning earlier.
New Hampshire has now struck first in every game they’ve played this season, but they were not done.
The ‘Cats added multi-run innings in the third, fifth, sixth and ninth along with a one-run inning in the eight that could have been much more if Gunnar Heidt didn’t leave two men on base.
New Hampshire did ultimately leave ten men on base, a statistic that coming due in part to the fact that they put so many men on base in the first place.
For the second night in a row and third time in their five games so far, the ‘Cats finished with their hit tally in double digits, with Davis grabbing two and Guerrero joining Bo Bichette with three.
Guerrero also added a homer during that one-run eighth, coming off a fellow second-generation professional ballplayer: Jose Mesa Jr.
Perhaps more impressive was Guerrero’s six RBI, followed by two a piece for Heidt and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
While Jon Harris (1-0) wasn’t quite as dominant as Sean Reid-Foley, he still put in a solid performance, giving up just four hits and a walk in five innings of work.
The Thunder would muster just one more hit after Harris’ departure, with Conor Fisk and Dusty Young combining to strike out six Trenton batters in relief.
Brian Keller (0-1) was credited with the loss for Trenton, giving up six runs off eight hits and a pair of walks in his 4 2/3 inning performance.
First pitch in for Tuesday’s game between these two teams is scheduled for 7 p.m. Francisco Rios (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will look to emulate his opening day performance against Trenton hurler Erik Swanson (1-0, 0.00 ERA).