Pippins Preview: July 6 at Portland

After opening up the second half with a thrilling 1-0 win at Portland on Friday, the Pippins return to action in the three-game weekend series with a Saturday night contest at Walker Stadium. Right-hander Joe Magrisi starts for the Pippins opposite his college teammate, Pickles left-hander Titus Groeneweg. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM PT in Portland, with pregame coverage with Miles Klotz beginning at 6:50 PM at pippinsbaseball.com/live.

Full Game Notes

PIPPINS PITCHING DOMINATES IN WIN AT PORTLAND: The Pippins opened up the second half of the 2019 season with a thrilling win in Portland on Friday, topping the Pickles, 1-0, in a pitcher’s duel for the ages. Neither team had a hit in the first four innings, and the two teams finished with a combined 7 hits and 25 strikeouts. Pippins starter Ryan Jameson was on point in his 6.2 innings of work, striking out a season-high 10 batters and allowing just 1 hit and 3 walks, and Jack Gonzales followed with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. The Pippins scored the game’s only run in the 8th inning, when Eddy Pelc reached on aa single and then scored on a double down the line by Tanner Parker. Pelc led the way on offense for the Pippins with his 2 hits, and Parker collected his team-high 17th RBI.

FOR THE PIPPINS: Right-hander Joe Magrisi will make his fourth start of the summer for the Pippins on Saturday in Portland. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righty from Cal State Fullerton last pitched in relief on Tuesday against Bellingham, striking out 3 batters in a scoreless ninth inning. His last start, on June 25 in Port Angeles, was not officially counted as the game was called due to rain, but Magrisi had finished 4 scoreless frames with 6 strikeouts in that start. On the season, Magrisi has a 1-0 record and 1.05 ERA, with 30 strikeouts just 3 walks in 17 innings of work. Opponents hit .107 off of him, and he has one save.

FOR THE PICKLES: Left-hander Titus Groeneweg, a college teammate of Magrisi’s at Cal State Fullerton, will get the start for Portland in Saturday’s game 2. A tall, 6-foot-5, 180-pound southpaw native to Vacaville, California, in the Bay Area, Groeneweg has posted a 1-0 record and 2.20 ERA in 16.1 innings of work this season for Portland. In that span, he has struck out 17 batters and walked 2, while opponents hit 290 off of him.

JACK ATTACK: Jack Gonzales continued his stellar stretch of relief outings on Friday in Portland, earning the win with 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, including getting the game-ending strikeout with the winning run at 2nd base in the ninth. The outing was Gonzales’ fifth consecutive without allowing an earned run, and also his fifth consecutive outing of at least 2 innings. In that span, Gonzales has tossed 14.1 scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 1.66. In those innings, he has 13 strikeouts to just 3 walks.

SHUTOUT CITY: The Pippins picked up their second shutout of the season – and their second of the past week – with the 1-0 win on Friday in Portland. Their first shutout came on Tuesday against Bellingham, when three Pippins pitchers combined on a 5-hit shutout. The 3 hits on Friday are the fewest allowed in a Pippins shutout since Taylor Dollar and Connor White held Cowlitz to 3 hits in a 1-0 win on August 1, 2017. The Pippins’ two shutouts this year are tied for the 2nd-most in the WCL, trailing only Corvallis (3).

A LOT OF DUDES: The Pippins had another new addition to the starting lineup on Thursday against Bellingham, with outfielder Eddy Pelc becoming the 43rd different player to appear in a Pippins uniform so far this season through 27 games. A litany of injures has led to larger-than-expected roster turnover early in the season.

ODDS & ENDS: The Pippins snapped their 9-game road losing streak, which dated back to June 5 in Ridgefield, with Friday’s win…Jack Gonzales stranded the only inherited runner he had on Friday, and has now stranded all 7 inherited runners on the season…the Pippins’ win yesterday was the first in team history against the Pickles, who entered the WCL in 2018 and swept the Pippins in their only series last year.

By Miles Klotz

July 6, 2019