Brooklyn----Ryan Howard (29) and Brian McCann (10) both homered with runners on, but the biggest blow belonged to Moabs middle man Micah Owings, who keyed a three-run third with a pinch-double off Brad Penny (4-6, 4.72), making his first start in a Squirrels ‘uni’ since coming off the DL. Owings (11-9, 4.47) would allow two runs, one earned, in three innings in relief and get the win with help from four late runs scored by his teammates after bailing out ineffective starter (4 IP, 5 ER) Ubaldo Jiminez.
As a result, the Moabs (71-67) pulled within eleven games of East-leading Darwin.
Ironically, both Penny and Owings came off the hill limping---Owings, complaining of a stiff shoulder, came out in the sixth after giving up an unearned run on a Miguel Cabrera throwing error; Penny, meanwhile, never made it past the third and after the game had plenty to say….and it was all ugly.
“What more do I have to do?” Penny complained in the locker room to reporters while the game was still going on. “I’m trying to pitch hurt. I came off the DL to pitch, but that doesn’t mean I’m one hundred percent. I think I really have kind of let myself in a mess here. I hurt, and I probably made things worse trying to pitch, all because they haven’t talked to me about extending my contract. I don’t think they want me back, and if that’s the case, I don’t want to be here.”
Penny, wrapped in ice, then staggered out of the clubhouse rather than return to the dugout. An unnamed club official allegedly muttered that Penny’s competitiveness had gotten the better of him, but it rang insincere to some observers with just fourteen games left in the Squirrels regular-season campaign.
In other news, the Squirrels surprised some insiders by cutting 3B Hank Blalock, who had been struggling to find his stroke (.245, 6 HR, 25 RBI) in limited action since coming off the DL. Despite Blalock's reputation, Frostbite GM Andrew Haynes had come to a decision: “Unfortunately, Hank hasn't been healthy most of the year, so he hasn't had much of a chance to show us what he can do. Because of that and the fact that we have someone younger and more durable at third in Edwin Encarnacion, we have given Hank his unconditional release.”
The Squirrels also confirmed that they would keep both OF Luke Scott and Matt Murton on the playoff roster after first mulling the possibility of cutting Murton (who is out of options). Instead, Frostbite Falls will go with a four-man rotation (Sheets, Hamels, Lincecum and Hernandez) and seven relievers, keeping 14 position players. As Haynes explained, “With Hank we would have been forced to make other choices that would have been detrimental to the success of the pitching staff. The Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels Baseball Club wished Hank all the best in the rest of his playing career."
In other BARB action:
WORCESTER 5, DARWIN 4 (1st game of DH, 12 innings)
WP: Brandon Morrow (2-3, 4.89)
LP: Zack Greinke (10-7, 4.46)
DARWIN 5, WORCESTER 2 (2nd game of DH)
WP: Scott Kazmir (14-5, 3.13)
LP: Jeremy Guthrie (12-9, 3.22)
SV: Gregg (10)
Hanley Ramirez led off the top of the 12th with his 22nd home run to break a 4-4 tie, as the gritty Eliminators overcame a poor start by Jesse Litsch (4 IP, 4 ER, 0 K) to earn a win in the opening game of a twi-night doubleheader on the road in Australia. It was the second time in three games that Matt Caskey’s team came up with a big win against Darwin’s bullpen, having beaten J.J. Putz in the season opener. The Finches avoided a sweep in the series by getting seven strong innings from Scott Kazmir in the second game with help from Lance Berkman, whose two-run single gave Darwin the lead in the fifth. Kevin Gregg, the club’s least-trusted reliever after several mid-summer meltdowns, nevertheless gave Putz and the rest of the pen a breather with two hitless frames.
Despite the split, Worcester has to be thrilled: they are in better position than anyone could’ve dreamed in mid-August, when they were six games out. Now, at 80-58, they are just one game out of the wild card and two games off the Finches BARB-leading victory total….and fourteen games left to play in the East.
LAS VEGAS 10, CASSELTON 7
WP: Aaron Heilman (8-3, 2.96)
LP: Brad Hennesey (2-8, 4.35)
SV: Rivera (25)
Jimmy Rollins had three hits, including his 8th circuit shot of the year, and the Luchadores went on to outslug the visiting Horned Toads, improving to 74-66. Despite four straight wins from the Ballers, Vegas’s ‘magic number’ to clinch the division was reduced to seven with just twelve games to play.
OAKEYLAND 5, LEXINGTON 3
WP: Joe Blanton (9-10, 4.20)
LP: Danny Haren (11-5, 3.78)
SV: Lidge (23)
Carlos Quentin hit a two-run home run, and Joe Blanton shrugged some poor outings to allow just two earned runs over eight frames and keep Oakeyland’s slim postseason chances alive. Meanwhile, the Rebels (77-63) continued to stumble in the final weeks, falling three games back of Yuma with twelve games to play.
In another piece of bad news for GM Ronald Melkonian, it appears that mid-season acquisition Brandon Phillips may be lost with broken fingers that may require surgery.
YUMA 10, POTTSYLVANIA 3
WP: Matt Cain (8-9, 4.04)
LP: Cliff Lee (6-12, 5.72)
Ryan Braun scored on a wild pitch in the first, hit his team-leading 30th home run in the seventh and in-between got the key hit, tripling home a pair of runs and scoring to lead the Firebirds (80-60) attack, making West-leading Yuma the league’s fourth team to reach the 80-win mark. Yuma’s ‘magic number’ for clinching the division is now down to ten games…with twelve to play.
No comments:
Post a Comment