The Harrisburg Senators and Erie SeaWolves finish their six-game set Sunday at UPMC Park with the series hanging in the balance. Harrisburg enters the finale up 3-2, and the Senators are trying to make the numbers line up in their favor: in each of the three series these teams have played, the eventual winner has taken four of six games. Erie, though, still owns a 12-11 edge in the season series.
Harrisburg turns to Alex Clemmey, who has been sharp in July and was excellent in his last start against Erie earlier in this series. In Game 1, he didn’t get a decision, but he worked six innings, allowed one run on two hits, walked two and struck out five. He last picked up a win against Chesapeake at the end of June, and his ERA has come down to 4.37 over his last few outings.
Erie counters with right-hander Max Alba, who has not gone past four innings in any of his last three starts. He faced the Senators in Game 1 as well and held them in check over four innings, giving up two hits, walking two and striking out three. His previous outing against Chesapeake went the other way: five runs on seven hits, including two home runs, with one walk and two strikeouts.
First pitch is set for 1:35 PM in a deciding Game 6, with a two-game swing in the standings on the line just before the All-Star break.
The Senators are coming off a 6-0 loss in Game 5, another night where the offense never really got moving. Starter Josh Randall lasted six innings and gave up six runs on six hits, with four walks and seven strikeouts.
He had some strong stretches, but Erie kept finding the timely hit when it mattered. The SeaWolves went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded only five.
Harrisburg, meanwhile, went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.
Jhancarlos Lara struggled in relief, walking three in one inning, while Holden Powell added a scoreless frame. Erie broke things open with big innings in the third and fourth, and former Senator Viandel Pena again came through with key production, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Harrisburg managed six hits, but they came from six different players and never turned into much of a threat.
After Sunday’s finale, the Senators head home for a few days during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week in Philadelphia. They’ll return to City Island to open a three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate.
New Hampshire sits third in the Northeast Division at 9-8 in the second half and 43-41 overall. Game 1 is Friday, July 17, at 7 PM.
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