The Hudson Valley Renegades pull within half a game of a Wild Card spot with a 7-0 win over the Aberdeen IronBirds on Sunday night. It was their second straight win against the Wild Card leading IronBirds, and their ninth straight overall.
For the second straight night, the Renegades made very quick work of the IronBirds. Saturday night’s game lasted a season-low two hours and seven minutes, while Sunday’s contest clocked in just above at two hours and nine minutes.
Renegades pitching set the tone early with Tampa Bay Rays No. 3 prospect, Brendan McKay taking the hill to start the game. It was the fourth career start as a professional for McKay and he continued to dominate for the Renegades. His three shutout innings Sunday night brings his season totals to 11 innings pitched, three hits, three walks, and 13 strikeouts. He has yet to allow a run as a professional.
McKay was followed up with an equally as dominating performance by Jhonleider Salinas. Salinas went six shutout innings, allowed two hits, a walk, and struck out three. He retired the first 12 batters he faced, allowing his offense to put some runs on the board.
The Renegades got on the board in the third, starting with a leadoff double by Deion Tansel. A fielder’s choice moved him over to third and a double steal scored the game’s first run. They tacked on three more in the fifth with four straight hits by Vidal Brujan, Carl Chester, Taylor Walls and Zac Law.
They put the game out of reach in the eighth with a leadoff home run by Oscar Rojas, followed by a triple and sac-fly by Isaac Benard and Rafelin Lorenzo, respectively. Their seven runs were more than enough for Salinas, who made quick work of the IronBirds.
With the standings so close, every new game is more important than the last. Sunday night’s win brings the Renegades to 32-25 and just a half-game behind the IronBirds who fall to 33-25. The two teams will play the final game of the series on Monday night. They meet again for the last two games of the season on September 6 and 7.