Final Score from Friday night at Lakewood, New Jersey:
(This is our Greensboro Grasshoppers’ Game Report, coming to us from Fred Anderson Toyota of Raleigh.)
Greensboro Grasshoppers 3, Jersey Shore BlueClaws 0
WP:Seth Hernandez(1-0)/LP:Mavis Graves(1-2)/SV:Connor Oliver(2)
Hoppers' Line-3-7-1 Claws' Line-0-3-0
Greensboro Grasshoppers now at (24-13) after the Friday Night win, and the Jersey Shore BlueClaws fall to (16-20) on the 2026 season…
This was “The Big Night”…The first start for Seth Hernandez as a Greensboro Grasshoppers pitcher…Hernandez is the #2 overall prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system, right behind Konnor Griffin, who is now with the big league team/Pirates…Hernandez in 2025, the Pittsburgh Pirates took him in Round 1, and he was Overall Pick # 6, from/out of Corona, CA High School…
In his first start for the Hoppers, RHP Seth Hernandez got the Win, going 5 Innings, and giving up 0 Runs, on 0 Hits, with 4 BBs/7 Ks….Not a bad start at for the new Greensboro Grasshoppers pitcher, and the fans can’t wait to see him hit the hill for the Hoppers at home, when the Grasshoppers return to First National Bank Field, next week…
Connor Oliver earned the Save for the Hoppers, on a very strong night for the Grasshoppers’ pitching staff…Oliver went 4 Innings, allowing 0 Runs, on 3 Hits, with 3 BBs/9 Ks…Seven strikeouts for Hernandez, and Nine more Oliver Ks on Friday night, at Jersey Shore…16 Strikeouts for the Hoppers in this key victory….The BlueClaws’ pitching staff was fairly strong too, on Friday…Jersey Shore’s pitchers walked 4 Hoppers, and struck out 15…
Hopper hitters were in good shape too, with Axiel Plaz swinging the axe well again on Friday, after homering twice, along with Two Doubles back on Thursday…Plaz went 3-4, with a Solo HR/Double on Friday, and Plaz is now batting at .361 for the season…Jhonny Severino homered with a Two-Run HR, and Severino overall was 2-3/HR/Double/BB/2 RBI…It was Hopper Homer #7 of season, for both Plaz and Severino on Friday evening…Also Doubles, for both Severino and Plaz, and they are becoming Extra-Base Specialists…Five of the Seven Hopper Hits coming from Plaz and Severino, and the other Hopper Hits came from Yordany De Los Santos, who went 1-5, and from Brian Sanchez, who was 1-4…Interesting night for the Hoppers’ RF Jared Jones, who goes 0-1/3 BBs/1 Run…
Get a couple of Hopper Homers, and a couple of Doubles, and the Two-Man pitching staff is doing great things, and that adds up to a 3-0 “W”, and a Three-Hitter from that Greensboro pitching staff…
It was Mavis Graves(1-2), who took the loss for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Friday night, and he actually had a decent performance for the ‘Claws…Graves goes 5 Innings, giving up 1 Run, on 2 Hits, with 3 BBs/10 Ks, and did give up a Solo Home Run, to the Hoppers’ Axiel Plaz…Ten Strikeouts, and not too shabby for Mr. Graves…
But, another win, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers have been in First Place in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division, since back on Opening Day, in early April….
Friday Night Game Details:
Attendance-4,198
Time of Game-2:30
Game Time Temp-67 Degrees/Partly Cloudy
Next Up:
Greensboro Grasshoppers(24-13) at the Jersey Shore BlueClaws(16-20) on Saturday afternoon, at 4:05pm…..
***********MORE on Seth Hernandez, and his Friday night outing at Jersey Shore, vs. the BlueClaws…..*********
MLB’s top pitching prospect aces High-A debut with 5 no-hit frames, 7 K’s
from Michael Avallone, with www.mlb.com
The much-anticipated High-A debut for Seth Hernandez did not disappoint. Unless you happen to be an opposing batter.
Pittsburgh’s No. 1 prospect spun five hitless innings and struck out seven in his debut for Greensboro, which blanked Jersey Shore, 3-0, on Friday night at ShoreTown Ballpark.
Hernandez did issue a season (and professional-high) four walks but only allowed one runner to reach past second base, as only two balls were hit out of the infield during his 70-pitch performance. His command struggles notwithstanding, Jersey Shore hitters were largely overmatched by Hernandez, who generated 18 whiffs on 29 swings (62.1 percent).
Heralded as an ace-in-making coming into the season after going to the Pirates with the No. 6 pick in last year’s Draft, Hernandez has not disappointed. After dominating his way through the first five weeks of the season at Single-A, MLB’s No. 3 prospect and top-ranked pitcher did not seem overwhelmed in his Grasshoppers’ debut.
Hernandez worked around a leadoff walk in the opening frame by generating a flyout and a pair of groundouts. The 19-year-old picked up his first two strikeouts in the second inning and five more over his final three frames.
After issuing a two-out walk in the second, Hernandez retired seven consecutive BlueClaws. Consecutive free passes in the fifth put two runners on against him for the first time in the game, but the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder used a caught-stealing, a fielder’s choice groundout and a three-pitch K to close out his debut.
The California native earned the promotion to the South Atlantic League after yet another dominating start for Single-A Bradenton last Friday. Hernandez generated 24 whiffs in that outing and fanned nine over six scoreless frames but still saw his K rate decrease.
He concluded his Florida State League tenure with an 0.96 ERA, an 0.71 WHIP and a 50/7 K/BB ratio in 28 innings, but that only begins to explain how unhittable Hernandez truly was. Hernandez regularly hits the upper 90s with his fastball, and coupled with a nasty curveball and equally vicious slider, it adds up to making him one of the toughest pitchers in the Minors.
Beginning with his pro debut — which kicked off with three K’s in his first pro inning — Hernandez has hardly been touched. Including his hitless performance for Greensboro, Hernandez has yielded just 13 hits in 33 innings, limiting opponents to a .118 average with just six extra-base hits in 122 plate appearances.