When the Blue Wahoos began their homestand last week, Grant Richardson was at home in Fishers, Indiana, hoping for a next chance in professional baseball.
He had just been released by the New York Yankees organization, a move based on a crowded outfield depth chart in their system. The Miami Marlins called June 4, signed him to a free agent contract and Richardson loaded his car and drove from Indiana to Pensacola.
A night later, Richardson was summoned to play left field during the game when Blue Wahoos mainstay left fielder, Shane Sasaki, was injured on a leaping attempt against the wall that thwarted a home run. He had just arrived to the stadium in mid-afternoon.
From there? Richardson went 6-for-9 the rest of the week with two homers, five RBI, a .556 average and 1.822 OPS (on-base, plus slugging percentage) as the Blue Wahoos won five of six games against the Columbus Clingstones, the Atlanta Braves’ new Double-A affiliate.
“It’s awesome to be part of this,” he said during the on-field, post-game interview. “These guys have welcome me in with open arms since I got here and being around the clubhouse and all the guys, I’m very blessed to be able to be here and be with all the fans and be so welcomed by everyone.”
Richardson is a former 17th round draft pick by the Yankees from Indiana University. This season, he played for the Yankees’ Triple-A team in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and their Double-A team in Somerset, New Jersey, where he batted .275 with an .887 OPS.
While in the Yankees organization, he was managed in 2022 by Rachel Balkovec, now the Marlins’ director of player personnel, who became the first woman in history to manage an affiliated minor league team connected to Major League Baseball.
“It’s an opportunity and I am going to try and capitalize on every opportunity I get,” Richardson said. “And I’m very thankful the Marlins are giving me this opportunity, so it is an unreal feeling.”
Richardson helped ignite a turnaround that has featured six wins in the past seven games, heading into June 10’s series opener on the road against the Rocket City Trash Pandas in Madison, Alabama. The win streak followed a franchise-record 11 consecutive losses.
“The boys are feeling good,” said Blue Wahoos reliever Alex Williams, following June 8’s game. “We’re swinging the bats well, we’re pitching well. Hopefully, we can continue this streak and make a little noise here at the end of this first half.”
Realistically, the Blue Wahoos (29-28) are out of the first-half division race. There are just two series and 12 games left in the first half schedule.
The Biloxi Shuckers have a commanding six-game lead over the Blue Wahoos and Montgomery Biscuits for first place of the Southern League South Division. The Blue Wahoos will seek to finish the first half with a winning record and a good vibe heading into the second half when the new divisional race begins June 24.
A LOOK BACK
The Blue Wahoos had their best homestand since April after splitting the first two games of the series against Columbus, then winning the last four games to take the series 5-1. They continued to get stellar pitching, but the biggest turnaround was at the plate where several players stepped up.
Here’s a recap.
TUESDAY, JUNE 3: Blue Wahoos 4, Clingstones 2 – The Blue Wahoos tied the game twice with solo runs, then got a go-ahead run in the sixth and another in the seventh for their first back-to-back wins since May 17-18. Three relievers, beginning with winning pitcher Josh White, combined to allow no hits, one walk and struck out nine of the last 12 Columbus batters they faced.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4:Clingstones 3, Blue Wahoos 2 – Despite another solid outing from Blue Wahoos starter Robby Snelling, the Clingstones took a 3-0 lead and held on. Kemp Alderman produced the Blue Wahoos’ first run, sending his sixth home run of the year out to left field. It extended Alderman’s hitting streak to 10 games, the longest by a Blue Wahoos player this year.
THURSDAY, JUNE 5: Blue Wahoos 7, Clingstones 4 – The Blue Wahoos had their best run production in three weeks, after the start of the game was delayed an hour by rain. After scoring a pair of runs in the third inning without a hit, Pensacola got a three-run homer from Josh Zamora an inning later in the fourth to further build a lead. Evan Fitterer allowed only two runs in 5.1 solid innings,
FRIDAY, JUNE 6: Blue Wahoos 5,Clingstones 4 – Johnny Olmstead scored the deciding run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning as the Blue Wahoos got a walk-off win to improve to 5-1 in extra-inning games this season. Olmstead hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give the Blue Wahoos a 4-3 lead before Columbus forced extra innings.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7: Blue Wahoos 5, Clingstones 4 – Same score as Friday, but in this one, after tying the game twice from two-run deficits, the Blue Wahoos manufactured a eighth-inning run and had dominant closer, Josh Ekness, finish the night.
In a game where each team’s pitching staff struck out 13 batters, the difference was Pensacola’s three relievers tossing scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, two baserunners and seven strikeouts in the final four innings.
SUNDAY, JUNE 8: Blue Wahoos 9, Clingstones 2 – The Blue Wahoos clubbed three home runs combined with stellar pitching to win their fourth straight game for the second time this season. Johnny Olmstead, Grant Richardson and Nathan Martorella homered to combine for seven of their nine runs.
THIS WEEK
The Blue Wahoos make their only trip to the Huntsville, Alabama, region to face the Rocket City Trash Pandas (21-34), the Los Angeles Angels‘ Double-A affiliate, who are struggling with the worst record in the Southern League.
The Trash Pandas have scored the fewest runs (186) and allowed the second most runs (243) in the league.
The Blue Wahoos took four of six games from Rocket City when the teams met May 13-18 in Pensacola. This series is part of a two-week, 12-game homestand for Rocket City at their Toyota Field home ballpark.
Rocket City began the season with 11 of the Los Angeles Angels top 30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline. That group was led by infielder Christian Moore, a former Tennessee Vols star, who was the Angels’ No. 1 draft pick in 2024. He was promoted May 20 to the Angels’ Triple-A team in Salt Lake City following the series in Pensacola.
A year ago, he burst onto the pro level by hitting .347 with six homers and 20 RBI in his first 25 minor league games to end the 2024 season as one of the rising stars in the game.
Four current players on the Trash Pandas’ roster are ranked among the Angels’ top 10 prospects. They are pitchers George Klassen (No. 3) and Sam Aldegheri (No. 5), along with outfielder Nelson Rada (No. 6) and infielder Denzer Guzman (No. 9).
Rada is the Trash Pandas’ top hitter with a .289 average in 55 games, including seven doubles and 12 RBIs. Guzman is the team’s top slugger with six homers, and 29 RBIs in 52 games.
The other ranked players are pitchers Samy Natera Jr., Walbert Urena, Joel Hurtado, Camden Minacci and Ryan Costeiu, along with infielder Cole Fontenelle.
Travis Blankenhorn, an infielder-outfielder, who played with the Blue Wahoos in 2019 as a Minnesota Twins prospect, played in 17 games for Rocket City before taking an injury rehab assignment with the organization’s Arizona Complex League team on June 2.
Former Blue Wahoos pitcher Sean Poppen, joined the Trash Pandas May 7 and has made nine appearances for Rocket City, including one in Pensacola. Poppen made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2019, after a strong performance in Pensacola, and has appeared in 63 MLB games
NOTEWORTHY
–Catcher Ryan Ignoffo was added to the Pensacola roster last week, and made his Double-A debut. He hit an RBI single on Friday for his first Double-A hit. Ignoffo was a 2024 Florida State League All-Star, Ignoffo batted .225/.294/.431 in 40 games for the High-A Beloit Sky Carp. He was leading the team in doubles (13), homers (6) and RBIs (39).
–Injuries and roster moves had the Blue Wahoos scrambling for additional players last week along with signing Grant Richardson. The team added infielder Jesus Hernandez, 21, a third baseman from the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Miami Marlins’ Class-A affiliate. He joined the game June 7.
–The Blue Wahoos’ Hawaiian Shirt Giveaway, sponsored by Kia Autosport-Pensacola, caused people to arrive as early as two hours before gates opened on June 6 to ensure they were among the first 1,000 to receive the shirt. It has become one of the top three giveaway nights each season. Only seven minutes after gates opened that night at 5 p.m., the entire supply of the shirts had been distributed.
–Outgoing Blue Wahoos general manager Steve Brice was honored on June 6, along with his wife and three daughters, with a surprise party by the front office staff and during pregame activities on his final day with the team. Brice accepted a position as president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Minnesota Twins’ High-A affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Brice has been with the Blue Wahoos for the past two and half years.
–The city of Crestview had its own special night on June 5 at the game. Crestview mayor JB Whitten threw out a ceremonial first pitch, along with Crestview’s “citizen of the year” award winner. The Crestview chamber of commerce had 60 guests on the Coors Party Deck and the city of Crestview had more than 200 in the group section of the seating bowl area.
WANT TO FOLLOW?
WHO: Blue Wahoos at Rocket City Trash Pandas.
WHEN: Tuesday (June 10) through Sunday (June 15)
GAMETIMES: The games on June 10 through June 14 all start at 6:35 p.m. The game on Jun 15 is a 2:35 p.m. start time.
WHERE: Toyota Field, Madison, Alabama
BACKGROUND: The Blue Wahoos won the series 4-2 against Rocket City in Pensacola when the teams met May 13-18 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, are in last place in the Southern League North Division with a 21-33 record before Sunday’s game. This will be the final meeting between the teams this season.
LIVESTREAM AUDIO: You can listen to the Blue Wahoos broadcast in Rocket City with announcer Erik Bremer’s call of the game through www.bluewahoos.com/radio or the MiLB App.
LIVESTREAM VIDEO: Available on MiLB.TV (subscription required).
TICKETS: Available at www.bluewahoos.com or at the stadium box office, which will open on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NEXT HOME SERIES: Begins on June 17 against the Montgomery Biscuits at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Wahoos Weekly: Pensacola on the road this week at Rocket City Trash Pandas