Matt Guerrier looked downcast. Summoned by manager Jack McKeon to make an emergency start, the setup man had just given up four runs without retiring any batters in the second inning against visiting Philadelphia, with the big blow being a two-run single by Andre Ethier. Handing the ball over to McKeon, Guerrier slumped toward the dugout, he and his teammates down, 4-0.
To make matters worse, the injury-wracked ball club, which had once boasted the best record in all of BARB, had slumped, losing 10 of their last 14 games. How could this have happened? Let us count the ways: one by one, young lefties Dallas Braden, Jorge DeLaRosa and Clayton Richard have been lost for the season with injuries....while veteran Roy Oswalt has been sidelined much of the summer with a bad back, and RF Shin Soo-Choo out with a broken hand.
Yes, July was a weary month for the Friars. A trade for RHP Ricky Nolasco had helped the rotation, and rookie Zach Britton had also made some effective starts for St. Francis. Nevertheless, the latest loss (Richard) placed a strain on the club's rotation, and with Brett Myers and Brandon Arroyo also slumping, things were even worse. So it was that on Game Day 100 the Friars sent Guerrier, a career reliever, to the mound as an emergency starter.
After an inning and a half, the visiting Rebels had staked Matt Garza (1-5, 4.70) to a 4-2 lead, but Garza couldn't hold serve. Kelly Johnson (now playing LF) cashed in 2B Neil Walker with an RBI double in the fourth, and CF Chris Young smacked his eighth HR of the year off Wade Davis in relief to tie the ball game. Leo Nunez, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs put up zeroes in relief of Guerrier, meanwhile, and so in the eighth new Friars closer Heath Bell was given a 5-4 lead to protect, and a chance to make Downs a winner. The former Worcester setup man gave up a solo bomb to rookie Dustin Ackley, however, tieing the ballgame and giving teammate Jason Motte a chance to be the hero out of the pen.
St. Francis's bench punished Motte, however. Rookie Daniel Murphy came off the pine to hit a double leading off the bottom of the ninth, and St. Francis's fourth pinch-hitter of the day (OF Felix Pie) singled home Murphy with two out for a walk-off win, making a winner out of Bell (8-2, 2.19) in his St. Francis debut despite the burly reliever's blowing the save versus Ackley. The 6-5 win at home caused the Friars to improve to 5-5 over their last ten games, keeping hard-charging Casselton and resilient Philadelphia momentarily at bay.
Still, the question for the Friars is real: can they really make the playoffs with a sagging rotation? The only pitcher acquired this season (Ricky Nolasco) is regarded as more of an innings-eater than a true ace. Oswalt's expected return from a back injury should help, but the brittle veteran has to be watched closely, and can't really be counted on to provide that many innings down the stretch. Meanwhile, Bronson Arroyo and Brett Myers have both fallen on hard times. The only bright spot for the Friars on the pitching side of the equation has been Bell, whose acquisition allows them to push back the talented but erratic relief corps to earlier in the game. "We need some of our starters to step up," admitted McKeon after the game. "I can't keep sending middle relievers out to start. This was an emergency deal. Our payroll makes it tough to talk trade with other clubs right now, and we have to make sure that we don't completely gut our farm system."
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