The Chesapeake Baysox erased a four-run deficit Wednesday night before falling late to the Harrisburg Senators, 5-4, in a game that extended Chesapeake’s up-and-down second half of the Double-A Northeast season.
Trailing 4-1 entering the eighth inning, Chesapeake loaded the bases on consecutive hits from Thomas Sosa and Victor Figueroa, both of whom had multi-hit nights, before a walk to Anderson De Los Santos loaded the bases with no outs. After two straight strikeouts, Harrisburg right-hander Sandy Gaston (3-4) walked in a run, and Fernando Peguero followed with a two-run double to right-center, tying the game at 4. It was the third game-tying or go-ahead hit for Peguero in his last six starts and 19 at-bats.
The tie didn’t last. In the bottom of the eighth, a leadoff walk by Baysox right-hander Tyson Neighbors (0-4) came around to score on a pair of singles, including the go-ahead RBI hit from Harrisburg’s Sam Brown, putting the Senators back on top for good.
Peguero also drove in Chesapeake’s first run of the night, singling and scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth. Aron Estrada reached base three times — with two singles and a walk — for his 30th multi-hit game of the season.
Harrisburg built its 4-1 lead early. Devin Fitz-Gerald hit a solo homer to right two batters into the bottom of the first off Baysox starter Joseph Dzierwa, and the Senators added two more in a four-hit second inning before a pair of doubles produced their fourth run in the third. Dzierwa settled in after that, retiring eight of the final nine batters he faced in a five-inning start.
Chesapeake had one more chance in the ninth against Harrisburg closer Jhancarlos Lara, putting the tying and go-ahead runs aboard via walks to Wehiwa Aloy and Figueroa, but a game-ending flyout from Vance Honeycutt — in his only plate appearance after entering as a defensive substitute in the eighth — ended the threat.
The loss came during a strong second-half stretch for Chesapeake, which has climbed from 18-15 in the second half in early August to 28-24 (57-62 overall) entering this game, keeping the club in the mix in the Double-A Northeast’s second-half race after a 59-77 finish in 2025. The Baysox, a Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, have won an Eastern League championship in 2015 and reached the league finals in both 2019 and 2021.
Chesapeake continues the series in Harrisburg on Thursday night, with right-hander Anthony Eyanson (6-1, 1.93 ERA) opposing Senators left-hander Josh Hartle (4-5, 3.63 ERA); first pitch is 6:30 p.m. at FNB Field. The Baysox return home for their final 2026 homestand Sept. 1, opening a six-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, at 6:35 p.m.
