MOABS MESS WITH TEXAS

MOABS MESS WITH TEXAS

Chris Volstad’s fifth start of the season was his best yet (8 IP), but he left the game trailing 3-0, seemingly on the way his fourth straight loss of the year. But his teammates magically rallied against relievers Jeff Niemann and Fernando Rodney, and the Moabs pulled a 4-3 victory over visiting Texas from the jaws of defeat.

Texas starter Colin Balester had outpitched Volstad, taking a shutout into the sixth, and Niemann preserved the goose egg in the seventh by retiring both hitters he faced. But the wheels came off in the eighth: Chase Utley led off the frame with a solo shot against Niemann, and the Tornados bullpen began to crank it up.

Miguel Cabrera singled and Ryan Howard walked to put the tying run at the plate, and that’s when the Texas brain trust summoned Fernando Rodney (0-1, 3.00). The hard thrower fanned Jermaine Dye for the first out, but Brian McCann singled home Cabrera, and Troy Tulowitski doubled sharply to score Howard. When Tejada’s throw to third went into the dugout, McCann was able to walk home with the go-ahead run: Brooklyn had scored four times with one out in the eighth to stun the Tornados!

That brought on ‘F-Rod’, who cranked it up and retired the side in the ninth for his fourth save, handing Volstad 91-3, 6.53) his first-ever BARB win and put Brooklyn (10-9) above .500 for the first time in weeks.

In other BARB action:

FROSTBITE 8, CASSELTON 6

WP: Russ Springer (1-0, 1.17)
LP: J.A. Happ (0-1, 1.73)
SV: Nathan (4)

Carlos Pena hit a grand slam to knock out Aaron Harang, and Mark DeRosa hit a go-ahead single off reliever J.A. Happ as part of a seven-run third that took an awful Paul Maholm (1.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB) off the hook and helped the Squirrels (12-7) win the opening game of a homestand with the visiting Horned Toads.

POTTSYLVANIA 10, WORCESTER 4

WP: Yovani Gallardo (2-0, 2.72)
LP: Jeremy Guthrie (1-2, 4.18)

Ryan Ludwick’s team-leading seventh homer of the year, a three-run shot, snapped a 4-4 tie in the first as the visiting Creepers (10-5) won their fifth straight, their longest winning streak in nearly three years, sending the Eliminators (13-6) to just their second loss at home, where they have been all but unbeatable. Hanley Ramirez had three extra-base hits (2 2B, HR) in a losing cause for Worcester.

FRESNO 12, LOS ANGELES 1

WP: Ryan Madson (1-0, 5.87)
LP: Dana Eveland (1-1, 8.79)

The Regulators scored early and often against LA pitching, and reliever Ryan Madson earned a victory in bailing out Rich Harden as Fresno (9-10) stopped a modest three-game losing streak.
Harden took a shutout into the fifth, but departed with a sore hip after taking a line drive off the bat of Jim Thome, who later homered for the Flyers’ only run.

BARB