Monteverde Masterful In 12-1 Wahoos Win

April 22, 2023

Troy Johnston has described hot hitting like riding a wave.

He caught another one Friday in helping the Blue Wahoos to a 12-1 win against the Birmingham Barons before another sellout crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Johnston drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, as the Blue Wahoos batted around in back-to-back, explosive innings while rolling to an easy win.

Their 14-hit attack combined with another impressive performance from starting pitcher Patrick Monteverde, who earned his second win with a 10-strikeout, three-hit effort in six innings.

With Monteverde, this is now a trifecta of exceptional.

In his three starts, Monteverde, 25, has been one of the best pitchers in the Miami Marlins minor league system with just five hits and one run allowed in 19 innings with 29 strikeouts. The Pittsburgh native began the year as the Marlins’ No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

“It’s incredible,” said Johnston. “When I was facing him in spring training – whenever I would see I was facing him – I almost would give my at-bat up, because I did not want to face him. That is how good he is. He is showing what he is capable of and he is an absolute bulldog on the mound.”

Monteverde faced the minimum nine batters the first three innings before allowing a one-out double to Moises Castillo, one of the Barons’ top prospects, who later scored their only run on a double steal.

The Blue Wahoos answered with a thunderclap of runs.

After coaxing five walks and two hits, but zero runs after three innings, against Birmingham starter Hunter Dollander (0-3), the Blue Wahoos exploded in their next at-bat.

Seven of the first eight batters reached in a six-run, fourth inning. Jose Devers tripled home two runs. Johnston later followed with a bases-clearing double.

“I hope I can ride the wave, but it’s a long season and I’m just going to try to do the best I can every day.”

In the fifth, nine Blue Wahoos batted, including Johnson’s second double, in a five-run inning. In all, every Blue Wahoos batter reached base. Eight scored runs. Seven of the nine batters had multiple hits.

Devers, Nasim Nunez and Victor Mesa Jr. all had two RBI apiece.

“It is a testament to what we have been doing. We have been working really hard,” Johnston said. “I know things haven’t been clicking all the time, but as you can see in the fourth and fifth inning, it clicked. Hopefully we can run with it.”

Jefry Yan pitched two scoreless innings with five strikeouts to follow Monteverde and Sean Reynolds pitched the ninth as Blue Wahoos pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts Friday.

Game five of this homestand is set for Saturday, with the Blue Wahoos’ M.D. Johnson (0-0, 3.38 ERA) going against Birmingham’s Christian Mena (0-1, 6.43).

written by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports