NEW ENGLAND STOMPS POTTSYLVANIA

Hardy's home run trot got a lot of use

Yankee Stompers one win away from title after battering Strasburg.

It was a night to forget for Stephen Strasburg. The hard-throwing young right-hander, just days after a Game One masterpiece (7 IP, 1 R, 8 K; beat Roy Halladay), could have been checked into the hospital for whiplash after his short Game Five start: four home runs allowed to the big New England bats; 11 total hits given up to the hosts.

The Yankee Stomper who most enjoyed seeing Strasburg was the number eight hitter, J.J. Hardy. The shortstop clubbed two homers—a two-run shot in the second and a solo bomb leading off the fourth.

In addition, Miguel Cabrera seemed to continue to break out of his slump lasting back to the regular season: “Miggy” was 2-for-3 with a solo of his own to lead off the third. Corey Hart added a long ball of his own.

Pottsylvania actually took the lead in the first. Erick Aybar led off with a single against Kyle Lohse and stole second. After a Josh Reddick groundout, Matt Kemp went the other way and Aybar crossed the plate. The rally effectively ended, however, when Kemp was thrown out trying to stretch the hit on a good cutoff decision by New England first baseman Hart.

It was Hart’s shot that opened the scoring for the Yankee Stompers. He led off the second inning by blasting one just inside the pole and two feet over the Green Monster. The Fenway faithful had grown restless after watching their team fail to capitalize in previous games and again in the first inning of this one, but Hart brought them to their feet and they remained standing for much of the next two innings.

Later in the second, Andre Ethier poked it down the right field line for a single to set up Hardy’s first home run. Lohse and Bourn both singled to put runners at the corner with one away, but Dustin Pedroia grounded into a double play to end the scoring at three.

Cabrera’s blast was the only run of the third, prompting Creepers manager Will Clark to leave his phenom in the game in hopes he could settle down.

Strasburg came back out in the fourth and immediately gave up Hardy’s second circuit shot. He induced two groundouts but was pulled when Pedroia lined a first-pitch single. Jaime Garcia came on and fared worse, if that was possible. The first batter he faced, the dangerous Cabrera, drew a walk. Carlos Beltran grounded a seeing-eye single through the left side to score Pedroia. Cabrera was next across the plate, and he came around from second on a Hart single. Miguel Montero added to Pottsylvania’s woes—a sharp double down the third base line to plate Beltran easily. It might have continued but for Hart being waved around third and thrown out at the plate with ease.

Still, New England’s lead was now 8-1, and Lohse was on his game.

Journeyman Lohse, coming off a 4-6, 4.52 season for the Yankee Stompers, eased his way through the remaining innings. The only trouble he encountered was the top of the eighth, where Pottsylvania put two on with two out before Paul Konerko flew out.

The Creepers actually punched out nine hits off the starter, but they ended up with just the one run to show for it. New England seemed to go through the motions the final few innings and the game ended 8-1.

Despite not scoring after the fourth, New England management was confident as they assessed the situation: two more shots to gain one victory, a completely rested bullpen (Halladay and Lohse had thrown back-to-back complete games), the offense (most importantly, Miguel Cabrera) finally on track and their shutdown Game Two starter, Ricky Romero, schedule to pitch Game Six against Chris Carpenter.