· By Whitney Hunt
James Nelson Starts the ALPB 20/20 Club in Dirty Birds Win
James Nelson hit his 20th home run of the season. With his 26 stolen bases, Nelson is the first player this season to join the 20-20 Club. This “club” is reserved for players who have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season. Charleston Dirty Birds continued their dominant stretch with a 3–1 win over the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on Saturday night, backed by another standout performance from Luis de Avila.
Game Highlights:
- James Nelson blasted a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning, his 20th of the year, putting Charleston up early. He also walked and stole a base.
- Zach Daniels drove in Charleston’s third run with a double in the 6th.
- Charleston’s bullpen struck out 8 of the last 9 batters to slam the door.
Pitching Recap:
- Luis de Avila (W, 2-0): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K — sharp and efficient again.
- Bullpen (Reyes, Van Gurp, Moscatiello): 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 0 BB
- Frank Moscatiello (S, 3) struck out the side in the 9th for the save.
Team Stats:
- Hits: Charleston 7, Hagerstown 4
- Strikeouts: Hagerstown 14, Charleston 2
- Charleston Extra-Base Hits: Nelson HR, Daniels 2B, Sedio 2B, Barnum 2B, Womack 2B
- Defensive Cleanliness: No errors committed by either side
Notables:
- Nelson’s 20 HR / 26 SB puts him squarely in 20–20 territory
- Charleston pitchers now have 22 strikeouts in the first two games of the series
- Attendance: 3,117 on a warm, partly cloudy night at GoMart Ballpark
Charleston will go for the sweep tomorrow, with momentum and a hot lineup behind them.
Celebrating its third decade, the Atlantic League is Major League Baseball’s first Professional Partner League, a player gateway to the major leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. Over its 26-year history, the ALPB has sent over 1,400 players to MLB organizations while drawing over 47 million fans to its 10 state-of-the-art ballparks that stretch from New York to North Carolina. Catch every Atlantic League game live at FLOBASEBALL.tv and follow the action at AtlanticLeague.com.