It was a gloomy day for the York Revolution on Thursday, but not just in the weather sense.

Thursday night’s game against the Road Warriors was postponed because of rain. And York also lost power-hitter Jason Botts, who was signed by the New York Mets and assigned to Class AAA Buffalo.

In 14 games with York, the 6-foot, 6-inch, 245-pound Botts ranked second on the team in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.419), RBIs (13), runs scored (13) and hits (20). He also led York in home runs (four) and total bases (36).

Revs manager Andy Etchebarren knew there was a good chance Botts would be signed by an affiliated club, but said that’s the risk you take when bringing in a player with Major League experience.

“You might think it (will happen), but you don’t know. And that’s what this league is about, is getting a guy a chance to get to the big leagues,” Etchebarren said.

The former major leaguer became the third Revs’ player signed by an affiliated club this season, which leads all Atlantic League teams.

A 30-year-old switch-hitter, Botts played in stints in the major leagues with the Texas Rangers from 2005 through 2008. During that span, Botts played in 93 games, batting .230 in 282 plate appearances with 28 RBIs and five home runs.

And if he puts up the numbers at Buffalo like he did in York, Etchebarren thinks there’s a good chance Botts could return to the big leagues this season.

In the meantime, Etchebarren said he won’t look to make any immediate moves to replace Botts. Rather, he wants to wait and see if the group of Val Majewski, Scott Grimes, James Shanks, Chris Walker and Mark Ori can step up.

“I’m gonna let these five guys play everyday, let them get at-bats, and see where I’m at two weeks from now,” he said.

Townsend back with Revs, Pope released: While York will lose Botts’ pop in the lineup, it should get some improved production from the shortstop position after the club acquired infielder Tanner Townsend by trade from Lancaster for future considerations.

In a related move, York released infielder Van Pope, who saw 10 starts at short but was batting just .206.

Townsend, 30, has been playing independent baseball since leaving Western Kentucky University in 2002. His best season came in 2008 with the Gary South Shore Railcats, when he led the independent Northern League in RBIs (84) while batting a team-high .371 with 14 home runs and 26 doubles.

Last season with the Railcats, Townsend posted a .278 batting average with 16 doubles and six homers.

Townsend was actually set to play for York in spring training after the Revs acquired him by trade from the Railcats.

But York released Townsend in mid-April because he was not medically cleared to play. Townsend said Thursday that at the time of the physical with York in April, he was still recovering from concussion symptoms he sustained about two months earlier in a car accident.

Townsend, who said he’s fully recovered now, was signed and activated by Lancaster last week. He would have started for York at shortstop on Thursday had the game been played.

No makeup date has been set for Thursday’s postponement.

The Revs will return to action on Friday to open a three-game home-stand against Long Island. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

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The York Revolution had just scored four runs in bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score at 7-7 when Octavio Martinez stepped to the plate.

With runners on first and third and two outs, and the momentum on York’s side, it was now up to Martinez to either end the game or let it go into extra innings.

With side-armed pitcher Ben Grezlovski on the mound, Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren had instructed his players to hit the pitches that were from the waist up.

“Luckily, I got a first pitch pretty much down the middle and it felt high. I said ‘this is it right here. I better let it fly,” Martinez said.

Let it fly he did, smacking the ball to the gap in left-center field for a walk-off RBI single, giving York a dramatic 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Somerset.

The matchup between York and Somerset was the first since the Freedom Division Championship Series in September, when the Revs defeated the Patriots 1-0 in Game 5, taking the series 3-2. York went on to win its first Atlantic League crown.

Although Martinez wasn’t around for last year’s York-Somerset series, he said the victory over the Patriots, who have won five Atlantic League titles in their 14 seasons, still means a lot to him.

“It seems like the whole league has rivalries with them. It’s the one team you really wanna go out there and play well and beat,” he said.

Until the bottom of the ninth inning, though, York hadn’t played well.

In his second start of the season for York, pitcher Corey Thurman (1-0) gave up at least a hit in each of the five innings he tossed. Thurman ended up allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits. But the damage could have been much worse. Thurman worked out of jams in the first and third innings, and Somerset left a total of six runners stranded against him.

“You keep your mind together and focus on the next pitch, pitch to pitch and out to out. And it’ll work out,” Thurman said. “That’s one of those situations where it validates you focusing on executing pitch to pitch, don’t worry about what just happened.”

Ronnie Morales tossed a scoreless sixth inning and was pulled after retiring the first batter in the seventh inning. But reliever Jason Richardson then came in and walked two batters and gave up an RBI single.

And in the top of the ninth inning, York reliever Jeremy Lewis gave up a two-run home to Michael Hernandez, allowing Somerset (1-3) to extend its lead to 7-3.

But York stormed back in the bottom of the ninth. Liu Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to lead things off. Van Pope and Scott Grimes followed with singles to load the bases with no outs. Rodriguez scored from third on a wild pitch, and Val Majewski then hit an RBI groundout to bring the Revs to within 7-5.

A walk to Jason Botts loaded the bases again, this time with one out. James Shanks then nailed a two-run single to right field, tying the score at 7-7.

After Vince Harrison grounded out, York had runners on first and third with two outs when Martinez singled to bring home Botts.

The victory marked the third straight game that York (4-0) has won in come-from-behind fashion. With the win, York remains as the only unbeaten team in the Atlantic League. The 4-0 start is also the best first-half start in franchise history. York began the second half of its 2009 season at 4-0.

Game Notes:

–York’s Van Pope entered Wednesday with the lowest batting average of any Revs everyday player (2-for-10, .200). He ended up getting the most hits of any York player on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

–Val Majewski accounted for three of York’s run, with an RBI single in the third, a solo homer in the eighth and an RBI groudnout in the ninth.

—With his five innings of work on Wednesday, Thurman has now tossed more than 1,500 innings in the minors.

York Batting Stats from Wednesday’s game:

Grimes, cf: 0-for-4, run scored, walk

Walker, rf: 0-for-4, run scored, RBI, walk

Majewski, lf, 2-for-5, run scored, three RBIs

Botts, 1b: 1-for-3, run scored, two walks, K

Shanks, dh: 1-for-5, two RBIs, two Ks

Harrison, 3b: 1-for-5, two Ks

Rodriguez, 2b: 1-for-2, two runs, one walk, K

Pope, ss: 3-for-4, two runs scored, K

York pitching from Wednesday’s game:

Thurman: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Morales: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER

Richardson: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB

Cruz: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER

Rice: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB

Lewis (W, 1-0): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB

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GAME: May 4, 2011. First pitch: 11 a.m. Place: Sovereign Bank Stadium.

 

Pitching matchup:  RHP Corey Thurman (Y) vs. RHP Nic Ungs (S).

In Thurman’s first start of the season on Friday, he pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up just two hits and one earned run to get York’s first win of the season.

Ungs will make his first Atlantic League start of the season on Wednesday. A native of Iowa, Ungs was drafted out of Northern Iowa University in 2001 by the Marlins in the 12th round. He reached Class AAA with the Marlins in 2006. He played at Class AAA in all of 2006 and 2007 and parts of 2008 and 2010. Last season, Ungs went 1-2 in seven starts at Class AAA New Orleans with a 6.68 ERA. Ungs has a minor league career record of 71-56, a 3.64 ERA, and 769 strikeouts in 1,136 innings pitched in 216 games.

 

Who’s Hot:

—Most of York’s lineup. Out of 10 players who have seen the most action for York in the first three games, only two (Chris Walker and Van Pope) are batting under .300. Four everyday starters are batting .400 or better at the plate. That group includes second baseman Liu Rodriguez (2-for-5, run), outfielder Val Majewski (5-for-12, four runs, three RBIs), outfielder Scott Grimes (4-for-9, five runs, one home run, one RBI), and firstbaseman/DH Jason Botts (6-for-11, four runs, one home run, four RBIs).

—Somerset’s Josh Pressley and Matt Hagen. Pressley and Hagen are the only two Patriots batting over .300. Hagen is batting 3-of-9 (.333), with two runs scored, a home run, two RBIs and a walk. Pressley is 4-for-11 (.364) at the plate, with one run scored, a double, and a walk. Pressley, though, also leads the team in strikeouts (five).

—Somerset’s bullpen. Seven Patriot relievers have given up a combined four earned runs in eight innings. That’s a bit better than York’s bullpen, which has given up seven earned runs in 11 innings.

 

Who’s Cold:

—Most of Somerset’s lineup. Outside of Pressley and Hagen, everyone else is batting .250 or worse at the plate. Six players are batting under .200.

—York’s Chris Walker and Van Pope. The pair makes up the only two Revs batting under .300 after the first three games of the season. Pope is just 2-for-10 (.200), with one run scored and one strikeout. Walker is a bit better, with a .273 average (3-for-11), with two runs scored and two RBIs.

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Before Monday, spring training games for the York Revolution usually lasted seven or eight innings.

But with spring training winding down, and Revs manager Andy Etchebarren wanting to get some of his pitchers live action, the Revs and the Road Warriors agreed to play 11 innings on Monday at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Had the game ended after the top of the ninth inning, York would have won, 5-2. But with the extra innings, the Road Warriors came back from a 7-5 deficit to win, 8-7.

On top of the unusual extended game, Revs pitcher Celson Polanco also threw an inning for the Road Warriors, allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts.

Including Polanco, York had seven pitchers see action on Monday. Reymond Cruz got the start and pitched two innings, allowing a run on three hits with one strikeout.

Kevin Angelle rebounded from his poor showing on Saturday by tossing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Jeremy Lewis then pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowing a hit and striking out one. Jon Ellis pitched the seventh and eighth innings, giving up a run and three hits while striking out one.

Mike Demark pitched the ninth inning, giving up a hit and striking out one. Sean Stidfole struggled in the tenth inning, allowing three runs on four hits with one strikeout.

Closer R.J. Rodriguez also struggled on the mound in the eleventh inning, giving up three hits, including a go-ahead three-run home run to former Rev Victor Gutierrez.

On the offensive side, the Revs were led by Mark Ori (2-for-5, double, triple, RBI), Scott Grimes (2-for-5, home run), Jason Botts (3-for-5, RBI, run), and Van Pope (2-for-5, double, RBI).

York will continue its exhibition schedule Tuesday at Lancaster, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. The Revs will then return home Wednesday  for their final exhibition game of spring training against the Road Warriors at 6:30 p.m.

Signing: York signed 24-year-old infielder Juan Martinez, who will provide some depth to the infield after shortstop Andy Gonzalez signed with an affiliated club over the weekend. Martinez, who is the younger brother of Revs catcher Octavio Martinez, is expected to arrive in York by Wednesday.

Arrivals: Outfielder James Shanks and relief pitcher Scott Rice should be in York by Tuesday. Shanks will isn’t expected to play in the first couple regular season games this weekend, Etchebarren said.

Rice, though, is expected to practice Tuesday and might pitch in the exhibition game against the Road Warriors on Wednesday. So, there’s a chance he could be ready for opening day on Friday.

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