YUMA HOLDS WILD CARD LEAD

YUMA HOLDS WILD CARD LEAD

YUMA 4, TEXAS 0

WP: C.C. Sabathia (14-7, 3.58)
LP: Tommy Hanson (3-5, 3.21)

C.C. Sabathia scattered six hits in his team-leading fourth shutout of the year, Joey Votto tripled and scored twice to lead the office and the sagging Tornadoes committed three errors in a game that was scoreless in the sixth before the Firebirds (79-58) broke through against their sibling rival.

It was a big win for Yuma, which needed to get some relief for a pen that has struggled to protect leads, and it keeps the Firebirds just a game behind West-leading Darwin and in the lead for the wild card spot. With seven games left on the schedule, Yuma’s ‘magic number’ for clinching a playoff spot is down to four....

Meanwhile, the Tornadoes have provided no competition at the end of the schedule for anyone, dropping eight straight to all but clinch the loop’s second-worst record. “Ay, not implying anything,” said RHP Javier Vasquez, who leads the team with seven wins and is the grizzled ‘veteran’ of 31 in the rotation. “The GM, I would not say, he would never intentionally tank things, but it really hurt us, lose Valverde, lose Rodney. We don’t have much room for error as starters, and our young are having to learn on the job.”

By ‘young’, Vasquez was no doubt referring to the likes of Colin Balester, Mat Latos and other twenty-somethings who have not smelled a win in weeks. And more green hands are on the way, if GM Ronald Melkonian is to be believed, essentially anointing Andrew Bailey the closer by dealing away Rodney and pushing Jason Hammel and others into setup roles. And, can the fabled arm of recent acquisition Steve Strasberg be very far behind?

In other BARB action:

DARWIN 5, POTTSYLVANIA 3

WP: Jonathan Sanchez (1-1, 4.57)
LP: Mark Buerhle (14-5, 3.61)
SV: Rodney (15)

Jonathan Sanchez scattered just one hit in three-plus innings of sparkling relief, Brandon Inge hit a pair of run-scoring doubles, and the Finches just held off a late Creepers rally to keep the loop’s best record (80-57) and their lead in the West intact. Pottsylvania’s defeat with six games left in the Central means that their ‘magic number’ for eliminating the Horned Toads remains at three, despite another big home run (#37 on the year) for Ryan Ludwick and a solid outing by Buerhle.

ST. FRANCIS 13, MADTOWN 6

WP: Gavin Floyd (7-14, 5.03)
LP: Ian Snell (2-12, 7.43)

Casey Blake drove in five runs with three hits, including a pair of circuit shots (#9 and #10) in the fourth inning, as the Friars (59-79) scored a season-high ten runs in one frame against Murlocs pitching. The big outburst assures St. Francis of finishing out of the cellar in the Central Division. Blake played first so new acquisition Andy LaRoche could play 3B for the Friars, and LaRoche also homered in the record-setting fourth.

BLACK MESA 8, LOS ANGELES 3

WP: Ted Lilly (9-6, 4.99)
LP: Dana Eveland (7-13, 4.93)

Vernon Wells hit a sac fly and a two-run home run (#23 on the year), and Ted Lilly pitched into the ninth for the first time in nearly two months to help the Anomalies (68-70) keep their hopes of finishing above .500 this season in play. Mark Reynolds, getting regular playing time down the stretch, his his 18th HR of the year in a losing cause, part of a power surge that has seen him crush ten round-trippers in just 38 games.

YUMA HOLDS WILD CARD LEAD