The Charleston RiverDogs came out of the All-Star break in a little funk, falling in their first two games to the Rome Braves. However, Saturday night they got back in the win column thanks, in part, to a four-run second that got the team rolling toward the 8-5 victory.

The RiverDogs jumped on top in the top of the second. Rome starter Ricardo Sanchez retired the first batter of the inning, but back-t0-back singles by Jhalan Jackson and Jeff Hendrix put two runners into scoring position. Alexander Palma followed by grounding down to third. Austin Riley came home to nail Jackson at the plate, with Palma reaching first and Hendrix going into third. A single by Gosuke Katoh scored Hendrix and it was 1-0 Charleston. Next up was Cesar Diaz, who dilled a Sanchez offering over the left-center field wall for a three-run homerun and the RiverDogs were up by four.

Daris Vargas started for Charleston, looking to end a personal three-game losing streak, and he found himself in a little trouble in the bottom of the second. Justin Ellison walked to begin the inning and Jonathan Morales followed with his 13th double of the season, scoring Ellison all the way from first. Vargas then retired the next two batters on pop-ups, but a walk to Leudys Baez kept the inning alive, and Yeudi Grullon made him pay for it by beating out a ground ball for a single. Morales scored on the play and it was 4-2.

The RiverDogs got those runs right back in the top of third, extending their lead back to four. Kyle Holder led the inning off by beating out a bunt for a single. Two batters later Afenir singled and Jackson followed with a single that scored Holder. A sacrifice fly by Palma brought in the sixth run of the game for Charleston, and it was a four-run lead again.

Despite being staked to fairly large lead, Vargas struggled to keep Braves off of the base paths. With two outs in the fifth, he had already thrown 94-pitches and his day was over.

Hobie Harris took over, and the Braves were able to get a run against him in the bottom of the sixth. Carlson Castro walked to start the inning and two batters later Grullon walked. A single by Luke Dykstra deflected off of the shortstop’s glove and allowed Castro to score.

Once again, Charleston got the run right back. In the top of seventh, Holder singled to begin the inning and scored when Afenir doubled to left field. That made the score 7-3.

In the bottom half of the inning the tit for tat continued. Jonathan Morales walked with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. A double by Castro brought him home to make it a three-run game again.

The RiverDogs answered once again in the top half of the eighth. Katoh greeted reliever Bladimir Matos with a line drive to right field that he legged into a triple. Two batters later Park singled to center to score Katoh and extend the lead back to four.

Andrew Schwaab entered the game in the bottom of the eighth, but he could not keep Rome off of the scoreboard. A single by Grullon started the frame, and a base hit later in the inning brought in the Braves fifth run. The inning could have produced more, but a great relay from Hendrix to Holder to Afenir nailed Dykstra at the plate. That would be the final opportunity that either team would have to score.

Harris (1-0) earned with win. Sanchez (3-6) took the loss.

Five Charleston RiverDogs hitters had at least two-hits in the game. Hendrix was a perfect 3-3 with 2-walks. He also scored a run. Katoh was 3-4 with 2-runs scored and an RBI. Holder scored 2-runs and had 2-hits.

Riley had 3-hits for the Braves. Grullon also had 3-hits and an RBI.

These two teams finish their four-game series tomorrow. Game time is 2:00 PM. The RiverDogs have not announced their starter.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier