The month of June for minor league baseball teams usually signals an attendance boost as more families come to the ballpark to check out the action because school has let out for the summer.
For the SeaWolves, the next three weeks will be an intense playoff race.
Keith’s historic game: Erie SeaWolves’ Colt Keith hits beyond the cycle in a historic performance at the plate
Erie sits at 29-22 with 18 games remaining in the first half of the season. The SeaWolves have a one-game lead over Altoona (27-22) and a 2½-game lead over Harrisburg (26-24). Altoona has played two fewer games than Erie and one will be made up in two weeks against Bowie, while the other postponed game will not be made up.
The SeaWolves welcome in Bowie this week for six games before ending the first half with a 12-game road trip to Harrisburg and New Hampshire. Altoona travels to Richmond this week and Somerset next week before hosting Bowie to end the first half.
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‘Wolves come alive in May
The ‘Wolves were ready for the calendar to switch over to May more than any other team in the Eastern League. Erie had one of its worst Aprils in franchise history by going 8-13 (.381). The ‘Wolves then bounced back with an 18-8 (.692) May, which is the third-best May record in franchise history.
Since 2005, the 184 runs Erie scored in May are the most in one month. Colt Keith led the way, hitting .374 with seven doubles, six home runs and 27 RBIs. He finished with an on-base-plus slugging (OPS) of 1.107 in the month.
Diego Rincones hit .317 with nine RBIs in May, followed by Wenceel Perez at .307 with 13 RBIs and Andrew Navigato with a .296 average and 15 RBIs.
The big story of May, however, was the Erie pitching. The team had an ERA of 3.91 with 229 strikeouts to just 89 walks. The ‘Wolves converted four of six save attempts and the franchise reached 25,000 career strikeouts.
Brant Hurter threw 30⅔ innings for Erie in May as he went 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA, while Wilmer Flores went 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in five starts. Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long and Andrew Magno each won two games.
Either side of the plate
On Sunday, Gage Workman hit a home run from both sides of the plate as a switch hitter. He homered from the left side in the third inning and from the right side in the fifth inning. It is the second time Workman pulled off the feat this year as he also did it in April.
Trei Cruz also hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game on April 29.
The last SeaWolves player to homer from both sides before this season had been Michael Hollimon on July 12, 2007, in a 9-1 win over Bowie.
Fast start to June
The SeaWolves are off to a 3-1 start in June, part of taking five of six games in Richmond. The last time Erie won a series at The Diamond was July 18-21, 2019.
The ‘Wolves will look to keep it going this week with Bowie at UPMC Park. The prospect to watch for the Baysox is outfielder Heston Kjerstad. He is an imposing figure at 6 feet 3 inches and 205 pounds and was the second overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Arkansas.
The schedule includes the first Copa de la Diversion game at home for the SeaWolves, who will play as the Erie Pinatas on Tuesday, and the first Bark at the Park night Wednesday.
Broadcast milestone: He’s called the walk-offs and thrilling homers. Now, this Erie SeaWolves broadcaster reaches a milestone
Contact Tom Reisenweber at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreisenweber
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie SeaWolves lead way in Eastern League during crucial time of year