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| Somebody wake these bats up! |
The prophetic Bubba was asking, nay, beseeching for pitching, and he got it. Connor Russell had a great game, giving up only three hits and three walks in eight full innings of work. Ryan Keller finished things off in the ninth retiring the three batters that he faced. Unfortunately for the 'Cats, Wenatchee pitching was just as formidable as Beau Kerns upped his record to 3-2 with a nice seven inning stint in which he allowed five hits and three walks. The net is, Victoria actually outpitched the Sox on this night but still wound up with the L.
So...pitching (see above) - check. Fielding (no errors) - check. Outhitting opponent again - check. Clutch hitting...uhhh...big buzzer sound indicating NO! Really, that was all that was missing tonight and after generating only one run in the last three games, this is still an area of great concern. In the bottom of the fifth, Victoria loaded the based with one out but could just not get the hit that they needed. For a change, their fielding was excellent, even gunning out a runner at home in the top of the seventh on an attempted safety squeeze. There was a minor base running error in the 'Cats half of the seventh where a baserunner was hit by a batted ball but still that was inconsequential, it all comes down to the big base hit when needed.
The positives out of this game were many - pitching was solid, fielding was great but clutch hitting will kill this team if they don't turn it around. My worry is that this is snowballing now and getting into the batters' heads. But there are still two more games before the All Star break and we know that these boys can play with the AppleSox of the league so here's to hoping they use these last two games to turn things around and put up a few more crooked numbers.
As an aside, did you hear the Darrrrrrrrrrrrr chants getting even louder. And can we have some more Pirates of the Caribbean walk up music maybe? Speaking of music, I don't see Trevor Hoffman, so can we move away from the Hells Bells at every pitching change? Let's pick something unique to welcome our 'Cats relievers - any suggestions out there? Runnin' with the Devil? Bawitdiba? Shoot to Thrill?
Anyway, two more games in the set. Let's turn it around tomorrow. With Conant "the Barbarian" on the bump, I'm guaranteeing a HarbourCats win! If not, drinks are on Bubba!
In spite of the loss, what a great game! That's the way baseball is supposed to be played.
ReplyDeleteWhile we left the bases full in the bottom of the 5th, you can't fault Alex DeGoti for making the third out of the inning. His line drive into the gap looked like it was going to drive in at least two runs, but their centre fielder made a great diving catch. Sometimes you have to just tip your cap to your opponents for playing just a little better than you did.
Also, in case anyone was wondering, that weird play in the top of the 9th was ruled umpire interference. Alex Real threw the ball into left field when the runner from second took off for third. Although he came around to score, he was sent back to second because the home plate umpire interfered with Real's throw. Not sure I have ever seen a play like that before!
Great Game Indeed !
ReplyDeleteAgreed Gus what a great game despite the outcome. Was good to see the local kid get the nod and do so well in front of his hometown. Maybe it's not only the fans that read this blog?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you might be surprised at who reads this blog (and how often).
DeleteI was proud of the way the team played last night, especially Connor and Ty Russell. You could tell that Connor was pumped to finally be getting a start. He threw himself into mid-air at a high chopper that went to his right and over his head and on another play he busted his ass to cover first base and help bail out Chris Lewis, who struggled to field a ground ball at first. Connor's ERA dropped to 3.16 -- second best on the team for those with enough innings to qualify for the ERA race. His 3.16 ERA is 16th-best in the entire West Coast League.
Ty was his usual grinding self at the plate last night, taking every at-bat deep into the count and getting on base twice. His on-base percentage of .500 continues to lead the team (Alex Real is second with a .433 mark).
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P.S. I'd like to give props to those pitchers keeping the team in the game. Russell definitely pitched well enough to win that ball game.
The comment above has been edited to conform to our guidelines for blog comments. We really appreciate it when readers leave comments, but please make any criticisms constructive and not personal in nature.
DeleteDarth, you are prophetic! Conant got the win tonight and lowered his ERA to 2.39 -- 8th-best in the league.
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Side has its advantages....
DeleteWhat is the "Dark Side" exactly.....
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