RiverDogs shut out Braves, get seventh consecutive victory

RiverDogs 3, Braves 0

Noel Castillo had little problem with an early work day.

Charleston's starting pitcher struck out five and allowed only two hits and two walks in six innings to lead the RiverDogs to a 3-0 shutout of the Rome Braves on Monday for their seventh straight victory.

"My fastball was working good today," Castillo said through a translator. "It was a little bit hot outside, but it felt good."

The RiverDogs got started about eight hours earlier than normal to accommodate the Charleston County Education Day promotion that drew a season-high 6,748 fans to Riley Park. The vast majority of those were students out on a field trip. With the crowd's average age skewing much younger than at most games, there was a different kind of buzz around the park that Castillo noticed.

"It's a little more excitement and a little more noise," he said.

Castillo (6-2) ran into any real trouble only once. Rome (18-39) loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but the right-hander struck out Yohan Silva and fielded Cole Miles' grounder up the middle for an easy out at first. Over the next four innings, he faced only one extra batter, and he struck out the side in the fourth.

"That's the best he's been this season. He was going right at guys and getting 0-2 and 1-2 counts," Charleston manager Torre Tyson said.

Gabe Medina pitched two perfect innings, and Jonathan Sanchez allowed a hit in the ninth but preserved the shutout for his 17th save of the season. It was the RiverDogs' third shutout in the first six games of the homestand.

The RiverDogs (39-19) staked Castillo to an early lead when Bradley Suttle hit a solo homer to left-center field, his second of the season.

Jesus Montero added a run in the fourth when Rome second baseman Cole Miles was unable to track down Carmen Angelini's ground ball through the right side. Austin Krum scored in the seventh after he got on base with a leadoff single and advanced on Abraham Almonte's sacrifice bunt. Krum stole third and scored on Justin Snyder's sacrifice fly to center.

The RiverDogs pulled to within 1 1/2 games of Asheville in the South Atlantic League's Southern Division standings. Asheville, also playing a morning game, lost 4-1 at Hickory. With about two weeks to go, the teams are vying for the first-half championship and the playoff berth that goes with it.

Ballpark fun

Several thousand students were able to spend one of their final days of the school year at a baseball game.

Coming up

The third game of the four-game series will be played today at 7:05 p.m. The scheduled starting pitchers are Charleston right-hander Jason Stephens (2-2, 1.64 ERA) and Rome lefty Cole Rohrbough (0-1, 6.55).

Fans will get to play baseball bingo for prizes ranging from Charleston dining to autographed RiverDogs memorabilia. Also, there will be a salute to 1980s pop band Oingo Boingo, and the IHOP Discover America Tour will stop at the park with Mr. Batter, the IHOP mascot.

Reach Bill Henley at 937-5595 or bhenley@postandcourier.com.

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