Late Rally Falls Short for Drive, Lose 5-4, Versus RiverDogs

Greenville, SC – Despite facing two Major League pitchers, the Drive rallied late versus the RiverDogs, only to see it fall short. In the end it was four Charleston (64-46, 19-21) home runs, two of which came off the bat of Brian Laird, doomed Greenville (60-51, 20-21) in their 5-4 loss at Fluor Field.

On loan from the New York Yankees for a rehab assignment, right-handers Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes combined on the game’s first 6.2 innings. Greenville was unfazed by Pavano, a veteran of nine seasons in the big leagues, as they scored in the bottom of the first inning.

After Pavano retired the first two batters, Ryan Kalish singled and stole second. Jered Stanley then put a charge into a 2-1 offering for an RBI-double. Greenville would tally three more hits off Pavano over his final two innings as Michael Almanzer and Manny Arambarris both singled in the second, and Carlos Fernandez added a double in the third.

Then it was the 21-year-old Hughes’ turn. Recovering from a stress fracture in his rib cage, Hughes shutout the Drive over 3.2 innings, allowing just a leadoff single in the fourth inning to Zach Penprase and a walk. The right-hander fanned five.

Offensively, the RiverDogs relied on their power. Laird and Almonte each hit a solo homer off Terumasa Matsuo (4-4) in the top of the second, giving Charleston the lead. Two innings later Austin Krum belted a solo shot off the Japanese product.

In the top of the sixth, Laird victimized reliever Michael Rozier for his second round tripper of the game, a towering two-run shot over the Green Monster.

The Drive made a push for a walk-off victory in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three times. Oscar Tejeda led off the inning with a single and scored as Penprase followed with a triple. Arambarris and David Mailman each added an RBI-single, cutting Greenville’s deficit to a run.

But with the bases loaded, Jonathan Ortiz induced Stanley into hitting a hard grounder at second baseman Justin Snyder to record the game’s final out. It was Snyder’s 28th save of the season, tops in the South Atlantic League

The Drive and RiverDogs continue their four-game series tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 4:05 PM. Right-hander Chad Povich will toe the rubber for Greenville as Charleston counters with right-hander Lance Pendleton.

Upstate Fest continues tomorrow as well, with the Drive spotlighting the Golden Strip. In addition, it is Family FunDay in which kids get to run the bases at the conclusion of the game. For more information regarding single-game tickets, ticket plans, group outings and luxury accommodations, visit www.GreenvilleDrive.com or call (864) 240-4500.

NOTES: With his 9th inning single, David Mailman extended his home on-base streak to 20 games…Pavano and Hughes became the 2nd and 3rd Major Leaguers to make a rehab appearance at Fluor Field as Jon Lester made a rehab start for the Drive on April 10th, 2007…The start of the game was delayed 43 minutes due to rain…Attendance was 5691