The Greensboro Grasshoppers were down 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning on Thursday night at First National Bank Field, in downtown Greensboro…
Down 1-0, to the Wilmington, Delaware Blue Rocks, with two outs, and the Hoppers Jesus Valdez was at third base, ninety feet away from tying this game up, at 1-1…But how in the heck are you going to get him home??? There are two outs, and then Matt/Matthew Gorski comes up to the plate, for the Hoppers….
Gorski has been seeing the ball well lately…He had a home run and a double on Wednesday night, plus Gorski had drawn two walks in his first two at-bats, in this, the Thursday night game…..But could he be “The Great Gorski”???
We all remember the “Great Gretzky”, as Wayne Gretzky used to skate into our living rooms back in the day…But could we be seeing the emergence of the “Great Gorski”, on this special Thursday night….
Well, why was this Thursday night special? It was special because the Greensboro Grasshoppers won the baseball game, and it was special because we saw the “Great Gorski” run from home to first, and in the process, he beat out the throw from the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ shortstop Yasel Antuna, and with the hustle shown by the “Great Gorski”, Jesus Valdez was able to come in and score from third base, and there remained two outs instead of three, and with the third out, that is if Gorski would have been out at first base, the Greensboro Grasshoppers would have never been in the game with a chance to win it, on Thursday night, at First National Bank Field….
It all came down to Gorski and the Running by Gorski/RBG, and with his legs, he helped win a game that is often decided by the use of player’s arms, at the plate, and in the field….Gorski beat out the throw by the Rocks’ Antuna, and that turned out to be the difference in the game…If Gorski doesn’t beat out that throw, the Hoppers may well have went on to lose the Thursday night game, 1-0, to the Rocks…
Valdez at third base for the Grasshoppers with two outs, and then up steps Matt/Matthew Gorski to the plate, and he hits a sharp ground ball to the shortstop, and the Rocks’ Antuna fields the ball cleanly, and then he makes a good throw to his teammate Jack Dunn at first base, and probably nine-times-out-of-ten, Antuna would have gotten Gorski out at first base, but with the “Great Gorski” getting it down the line from home to first, he does the improbable, and the “Great Gorski” gives that extra “Umphhhh” and he beats the throw, and Gorski is safe, and by now Valdez has reached home safely, Valdez scores making the new score, Greensboro Grasshoppers 1, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1….If Gorski is out at first base, the Hoppers are still down, and they trail the Rocks 1-0, heading to the top of the seventh inning…
That lunge to beat the throw by Gorski, and the fact that we saw the Running by Gorski/RBG make a huge difference in the overall finish of the play, leads me to declare Gorski’s play here on the RBG/Running by Gorski, to be the “Play of the Game”….
So the Hoppers get it all tied up in the bottom of the sixth inning on the run scored by Valdez, and the big ground ball RBI by RBG/Gorski, and then we find another ‘instant hero’ waiting in the wings, in the bottom of the seventh inning…
LoLo Sanchez steps up to lead off the Hoppers’ hitting in the bottom of the seventh, and Sanchez sends the first pitch he sees from Blue Rocks’ reliever Francys Peguero, to deep left field, and with the “Long Gone” home run, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a team that was in danger of losing the Thursday night to the Rocks, 1-0, that same Hoppers team has found their way, and they now are in front, 2-1, on the Sanchez solo HR, and what do you think about all of that???
I like it, and the Grasshoppers must have liked it too, because they made that 2-1 lead stand up the rest of the way, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers go on to win the game on Thursday evening at FNB Field/First National Bank Field, by that special 2-1 score….
The Hoppers starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft struggled somewhat in the first inning, but he settled down after that, and went on to work 4 1/3 innings on Thursday night, and he gave up the one Rocks run, on four hits, with two walks and three strikeouts…Not a bad night for Ashcraft, but he would have been the losing pitcher if Gorski doesn’t run like a mad man/wild man…As it is/was, Grant Ford comes in, in relief of Ashcraft, and he throws 3 2/3 innings, giving up 0 runs on three hits, with one walk and 5 big K’s/strikeouts…Ford gets the win, and then Oliver Garcia enters the contest/game in the ninth inning and he works the final frame to get the save, for the Hoppers…No runs, no hits, a walk and a strikeout for Garcia to close out the ballgame…
The Greensboro Grasshoppers win the game 2-1, and here we go with our game particulars….
Final:Greensboro Grasshoppers 2, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
WP:Grant Ford(2-1)
LP:Francys Peguero(0-1)
SV:Oliver Garcia(2)
Home Run:GSO LoLo Sanchez, with his third HR of the season, and it was a solo shot to left field, in the bottom of the seventh inning…
Hoppers’ hitters:Gorski 1-2/2 BB’s/RBI(Game-tying RBI)…Jesus Valdez 1-2/BB/Run(Game-tying Run)…LoLo Sanchez 1-2/BB/HBP/HR(Game-winning Run, on his Solo HR)…Jared Triolo 1-4/Double….
Rocks’ hitters:Jake Alu 1-4/HR…Justin Connell 2-4…Israel Pineda 1-3/BB…Jacob Rhinesmith 1-3/Double/BB…Armond Upshaw 1-4…Jack Dunn 1-4…
The Blue Rocks starting pitcher Tyler Dyson went five innings, allowing 0 runs, on 0 hits, walking two and striking out three for Wilmington, and if not for the heroics of Gorski, Valdez and Sanchez, Dyson would have picked up the win on Thursday night….Dyson pitched well enough to earn the win, but the Greensboro Grasshoppers had other ideas/plans, and those ideas/plans turned into a victory, for the home team/good guys….
Hoppers(11-10)/Blue Rocks(10-11)
Hoppers' line:2-4-1 Rocks' line: 1-7-0
Attendance:4,668
Time of Game/TOG-3:02
Looking ahead to Friday night, it will be RHP Michael Burrows on the hill for the Hoppers, with RHP Joan Adon, ready to go for the Blue Rocks….Game time is set for 6:30pm at First National Bank Field….CLICK HERE to listen to the games, at GSOHoppers.com….