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Grasshoppers ride strong starting pitching performance to a victory

It has been a tough season for the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Wednesday night, however, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates held on to defeat the Greenville Drive 5-3 despite things getting hairy in the 9th inning. With the win, the Grasshoppers are now 49-63 on the season.

Local product Justin Meis started for the Grasshoppers. Meis allowed 2 runs on a pair of solo home runs, four walks and struck out nine in 5 innings pitched. Meis now owns a 4.53 ERA to go with 100 strikeouts in 95.1 innings pitched between Low-A and High-A this season.

Domingo Gonzalez pitched 2 innings out of the Grasshopper bullpen, allowing a run on three hits, a walk and four strikeouts. Eddy Yean allowed a hit and struck a batter out in a scoreless 8th inning. After Yean walked the first two batters of the 9th he was lifted for Cam Junker who struck out the first batter he faced before flipping a double play ball to end the game.

Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez had arguably the biggest hit of the night for the Grasshoppers. Going 1-for-4, Gutierrez hit a three-run home run in the first inning. Gutierrez’s 12th home run of the season raised his OPS to .776 and gave the Grasshoppers an early lead.

If Gutierrez did not have the biggest hit of the night then Sammy Siani did. After Jase Bowen signed with two outs in the 7th inning and stole second base, Siani his his second double of the game to score Bowen and give the Grasshoppers a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

In his first game since July 22nd, Siani was 2-for-4 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the season. Designated hitter Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with his 13th High-A double, a run scored, a walk and a RBI.