Melky Sets RBI Record as Revs Notch Series Win

September 11, 2022 – Atlantic League (AtL) – York Revolution News Release

(York, Pa.): Melky Mesa set a franchise record for career RBI on a go-ahead single in the fifth that proved to be the difference as the York Revolution edged the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, 5-4 on Saturday night at PeoplesBank Park.

Sam Burton made his first start with the Revs since 2019 on Saturday and the York bullpen shined with a scoreless night over a combined 5.1 innings as the Revs took home back-to-back victories for the first time since August 24-25 against the playoff bound Crabs.

Southern Maryland got the first run of the game with two outs in the second inning as Jared Walker lined a two-strike double into the right field corner.

The Blue Crabs doubled the lead in the third inning as Jack Sundberg led off the inning with a home run to right, making it an early 2-0 lead for the Blue Crabs.

Connor Lien led off the bottom of the third and started things with a bloop hustle double that dropped in front of Braxton Lee in right. An errant throw by Lee allowed Lien to move up to third, and he scored on a wild pitch to put York on the board. With Troy Stokes Jr. (walk) and Jhon Nunez (double) aboard, Nellie Rodriguez came through by scorching a lined single off the Arch Nemesis, scoring both to put York on top 3-2.

Things got away from Burton to start the fourth inning which started with a walk and hit batter. After a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position, a Michael Baca sacrifice fly scored Walker to tie the game at 3-3. With Burton one out away from escaping further trouble, Lee grounded a single through the right side to score Mike Falsetti and put Southern Maryland ahead 4-3, chasing Burton from the game.

Kyle Zurak relieved Burton with runners on the corners and got David Harris to fly out to center field to end the inning. Zurak (1-1) followed with a 1-2-3 fifth inning including a strikeout, earning the victory on the mound.

Leading off the bottom of the fifth inning, Stokes Jr. jumped on a first pitch breaking ball from Crabs starter Eddie Butler, lining it over the Nemesis to tie the game at 4-4 on his 16th of the season. Nunez walked and Rodriguez followed with a single two batters later, putting runners on the corners for Mesa. With a 3-0 green light against Butler, Mesa lined a base hit into right field to score Nunez and give York a 5-4 lead. The RBI was the 313th of Mesa’s Revs career, making him the all-time franchise leader. The single came after a three-RBI night on Friday which had tied him with Andres Perez for the all-time record entering Saturday’s action.

Nick Green tossed a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the sixth and York turned to Franklin Van Gurp for the seventh. Van Gurp loaded the bases with two outs after hitting Zach Collier and walking Joe DeLuca, but Van Gurp evaded any damage after striking out Walker swinging to end the inning.

The first two batters of the eighth inning reached against Roniel Raudes on a single and an error, but he responded with two strikeouts and a pop up to retire the next three, maintaining the Revs’ one-run lead.

Two reached on one-out singles against closer Jim Fuller in the ninth, but the lefty forced Walker to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to lock down his 19th save of the season and give York the 5-4 win. It was the 73rd save of Fuller’s Atlantic League career, putting him alone in sixth place, now one behind Southern Maryland’s Mat Latos for fifth.

York will look for the sweep against the Blue Crabs on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. with Eduardo Rivera taking the mound. It is First Responders Day presented by RBC Wealth Management, Kids T-Shirt Giveaway presented by Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, Sunday Funday presented by Weis Markets, and Bark in the Park. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.

Notes: Rodriguez walked in the first inning, tying Telvin Nash’s Atlantic League record for walks in a season with his 105th of the year. Stokes Jr.’s home run was his third in his last five games played, and his fifth in his last nine games. Van Gurp has held opponents scoreless in six of his seven outings with York. Raudes’ scoreless outing was his fifth straight and 15th in his last 16 outings; it was also his 21st outing without allowing an earned run in his last 22 appearances. The Revs improve to 5-3 at home against the Blue Crabs this season.

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