BELOIT—Don’t misunderstand Patrick Monteverde. The Beloit Sky Carp starting pitcher was disappointed he took a “no decision” for Wednesday’s chilly matinee game with the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
He’s even more upset his team dropped its fourth straight game, 2-1, to fall to 4-13 for the young Midwest League season.
Yet he’s also a guy who is living the dream. A pitcher who wasn’t recruited after high school, toiled in Division III, then Division II, recovered from “Tommy John” surgery on his left elbow and landed a Division I gig with Texas Tech thanks in part to a Twitter audition.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder pitched so well for the Red Raiders he became the Miami Marlins’ eighth-round draft pick last year and is currently in his first full season of pro ball. He was feeling pretty good about his effort on Wednesday against a 14-3 first-place team boasting the league’s top offense.
“Wins and losses don’t always tell the story for a pitcher,” Monteverde said. “They’re a very good hitting team. We had a really good game plan going in between (catcher Will Banfield, pitching coach Jason Erickson) and I. You know every hitter has their weakness.”
Even Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who wore out the Sky Carp pitching staff when they played in Cedar Rapids.
“I had faced him when I was at Texas Tech and he was at Oklahoma State,” Monteverde said. “I knew where to attack him, although he got me today because I walked him twice. He’s a tough hitter to get out.”
Monteverde didn’t attract any D-I offers coming out of high school so he pitched one season at Virginia Wesleyan in 2017 and went 7-2 with a 1.96 earned run average.
That success allowed him to transfer to D-II Seton Hall in Pennsylvania. In just his second start there, he heard a pop in his elbow and then tremendous pain. The elbow required surgery, but by 2020 he was back on the mound.
After he threw 30 pitches in his first game back on March 6, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled his team’s season.
Monteverde entered the transfer portal and helped the recruiting process along by posting on social media a workout in which he was throwing 92 mph.
“Teams weren’t allowed to reach out, but there were no rules about Twitter,” he said. “I threw a bullpen and I was pitching very well that day.”
Texas Tech won the recruiting war that followed and he went 7-4 with a 3.75 ERA in a team-high 16 starts. He walked 21 batters and struck out 101 in 86 1-3 innings. His fastball is in the 89-92 mph range and he has good command of a changeup, curveball and slider. He is a bit old for a High-A player, but the Marlins consider him a top prospect.
“I think I have a pretty unique opportunity here to work on my pitches and make myself more of a dynamic pitcher,” Monteverde said. “I’ll work on my weaknesses and try to become more of a well-rounded pitcher.”
Monteverde allowed only one earned run in his five innings of work Wednesday. In the fourth inning, the Kernels loaded the bases as Aaron Sabato walked, Jair Camargo singled and Seth Gray hit a chopper between the mound and first base that drew first baseman Federico Polanco away from the bag and left no one for Monteverde to throw to when he fielded it.
“That was kind of no man’s land and a little miscommunication,” Monteverde said. “I think (Polanco) thought he had it and I thought it was my ball off the bat. So no one covered. If that ball was two feet more toward me it was probably an easy out to first.”
The Sky Carp did get an out when Wander Javier grounded back to Monteverde and he threw home for a forceout. But Alerick Soularie followed with a sacrifice fly to center to put the Kernels ahead 1-0. The next batter flew out.
Monteverde held the Kernels scoreless in the fifth and Josan Mendez came on to pitch the sixth.
Beloit tied the game in the sixth inning. Nasim Nunez lined a two-out double down the left field line. Brian Morissette hit a fly to left that had routine written all over it, but the Kernels’ Jefferson Morales lost it in the sun and it bounced next to him, allowing Nasim to score and tie the game. Miguel Rodriguez (1-0) restored order by striking out Victor Mesa Jr.—one of 14 strikeouts by the Sky Carp on the day.
Beloit started a lineup with five batters hitting .185 or below.
“The cold weather has been a big factor,” Beloit Manager Jorge Hernandez said regarding his team’s anemic attack. “I don’t think any of our players are used to playing in this type of weather. You could tell. We had a few days of nice weather in South Bend and we looked like a different team hitting the ball. Until it gets warmer, we just have to find a way to get it done.”
Monteverde, a Pittsburgh native, knows all about cold weather.
“I grew up pitching in this stuff,” he said.
“Monteverde is just a great competitor,” Hernandez said. “He’s from Pittsburgh. He’s a tough guy. He doesn’t even have long sleeves on out there. He’ll give you 100 percent every time he takes the ball. He’s a top prospect and he has done a great job so far.
Cedar Rapids untied the game in the eighth against Tyler Mitzel. Javier doubled to left with one out. Soularie lined to right center, but center fielder Mesa Jr. showed great range in running it down for the second out. Will Holland followed with an RBI single to right, however.
Bradshaw singled to open the Sky Carp eighth, but Denny Bentley struck out the next three batters. He retired the side in order in the ninth as well.
• NOTES: The matinee game drew an announced attendance of 3,423 as area school children filled the ballpark. …The teams meet again Thursday at 6:35 p.m.
• BOXSCORE: Cedar Rapids 2, Sky Carp 1
C. Rapids.000 100 010—2 8 0
Beloit……000 001 000—1 5 1
CEDAR RAPIDS (ab-r-h-rbi)—Morales, lf, 5-0-1-0; Encarnacion-Strand, 3b, 3-0-0-0; Sabato, dh, 4-0-0-0; Camargo, c, 4-1-1-0; Gray, 1b, 3-0-2-0; Javier, ss, 4-1-2-0; Soularie, 2b, 3-0-1-1; Holland, cf, 4-0-1-1; Taylor, rf, 4-0-0-0. Totals: 34-2-8-2.
BELOIT (ab-r-h-rbi)—Nunez, ss, 4-1-1-0; Morissette, 2b, 4-0-2-1; Mesa Jr., cf, 4-0-0-0; Banfield, c, 4-0-0-0; Allen, dh, 4-0-1-0; Polanco, 1b, 3-0-0-0; Marinez, 3b, 3-0-0-0; Bradshaw, rf, 2-0-1-0; Orr, lf, 3-0-0-0. Totals: 31-1-5-1.
E: Marinez. DP: Beloit 1. LOB: CR 10, Beloit 4. 2B: Javier, Nunez, Morissette, Allen. SF: Soularie.
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): CR, Legumina (W) 5.0-1-0-0-1-8; Rodgriguez (W,1-0) 2.0-3-1-1-0-3; Bentley (S,2) 2.0-1-0-0-0-3. Beloit, Monteverde 5.0-3-1-1-3-4; Mendez 1.0-3-0-0-0-1; Mitzel (L,1-1) 2.0-2-1-1-0-2; Reynolds 1.0-0-0-0-0-0.
HP: Gray by Monteverde. T: 2:23. Att.: 3,423.