42.11 TWC - Espinoza Tosses 3 Hit Gem over 7+ innings in Yellow Springs
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 1:28 pm
SP Mario Espinoza
2042 STATS - 8W-3L - 5.13 ERA / 1.43 WHIP / 39% QS
Mario Espinoza was spotlighted last season, documenting his unlikely rise from undrafted Rookie to earning his first BBA Start.
41.06 TWC Undrafted 23 Year Old Pitcher Grinding his way to the BBA
2035 - Talents 5/1/4 OA 20
2042 - Talents 7/5/7 OA 55
After the disaster of losing potential #2/#3 Starter - Liam Thorpe to an injury that has threatened his career as a starter, Espinosa has been a godsend to the TWC's success this season.
Never flashy, he's just a workhorse that can go deep into games while keeping the score close. And with the River Monster offense and improved bullpen, that formula has lead to 8 wins before the All Star Break.
It's a far cry from when Mario went undrafted in 2035 after being cut by his college team. (See previous article)
Heading into the All Star Week, Twin Cities has a 4 game series at Yellow Springs. At the start of the week, Twin Cities was trailing the Nine by 5+ games and Louisville by 10+ games. Mario was slated to take the mound in the series opener to close out the week. Twin Cities desperately needed a strong outing from Espinoza to set the tone for the series. A win would shrink Yellow Spring's lead to 2 games and Louisville to 9 games.
The River Monsters were able to jump on Carlos Pineda early, scoring 2 in the 1st (Back to Back Homers by Joe Bradshaw and Joe Gutierrez, and 2 more over the next two innings. That would more enough for Epinoza as he went 6 2/3 scoreless innings with only 2 hits before giving up a pinch hit home rum to Mark Haynes. Ramon Suarez took over in the 8th and threw 1 2/3 hitless innings to close out the game after the River Monster bats ran up the score in the 7th inning... Final 8-1.
Likely All Star Catcher Joe Bradshaw took player of game, going 5 for 5, with a double, a homer and 3 RBI's. After his recent 23 hit game streak came to an end earlier in the week, Joe was ecstatic to bring a big bat against the vaunted Yellow Springs Nine in a key match up.
The River Monsters #1 Starter, Jose Perez will likely face Yellow Springs #1 starter, Carlos Valle. Carlos has been hot of late, going 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA over his last 6 starts, the River Monsters are expecting a tough match up in game 2 of the series.
Mario Espinosa has been a nice story, considering his professional career was almost over before he could even get started.