Chatham (7-6-1) will take on Hyannis (2-10-1) for the A'ssecond-consecutive home game on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Field. Chatham lost its 11th-straight meeting with Wareham on Friday night, 7-4, after its late rally came up short with the tying run on first base. 

Hyannis had won two of three, but the Harbor Hawks were shutout at Harwich Friday night, 6-0.

The Harbor Hawks are the Cape League’s worst team through the first three weeks of the season. Hyannis has allowed 96 runs, which is 34 more than any other team. Its pitching has been its biggest concern, as the Harbor Hawks have allowed the most hits and handed out the most free passes of any team. 

Saturday’s meeting will be the second meeting of four between Hyannis at Chatham.

Probable Pitchers

Ty Madden (Texas) will start for the Anglers. This is the second time Madden will start against Hyannis, after his debut in the season-opener. The righty allowed two earned runs in three innings, but his last two appearances have been stellar. In 5.1 innings since, all against Yarmouth-Dennis, Madden has allowed just three hits and zero earned runs. 

Luke Bartnicki (Georgia Tech) will relieve Madden in the middle innings. Bartnicki has two wins and a save already for the A’s, pitching 6.2 innings in total and allowing just one run. The lefty’s 12 strikeouts, nearly two per inning, rank him near the top of the league in strikeouts ratio.

Samuel Thoreson (Minnesota) will start for Hyannis. This will be the right-hander’s fourth appearance for the Harbor Hawks, and third start. As a starter, Thoreson is 1-1, with just three runs allowed in 11 innings pitched. 

Player to Watch

Hueston Morrill (Oklahoma State) made his Cape League debut on Friday night in Chatham’s loss to Wareham. Morrill went 1-for-4, but roped a leadoff double in the eighth inning and came around to score. Despite his fielding and then throwing two-base error, manager Tom Holliday praised Morrill’s approach at the plate.

Stat to know — 7.23

Hyannis team pitching has a 7.23 ERA through 13 games, which is the highest of any team in the Cape League by a wide margin. It’s more than two runs higher than Falmouth (5.06), and more than double the ERA that the Anglers staff (3.36). 

Last time they met

Hyannis and Chatham met at McKeon Park on June 10 to open the season. Hyannis grabbed an early 2-1 lead, then extended it to 4-1 in the seventh after shaky Anglers defense. Adan Fernandez (Florida International) ripped a two-run double, and Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida State) scored the winning run in the 10th on a wild pitch as the A’s rallied to win 5-4.