Travs Weekly Report
Published on September 2, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
The Past Week: The Arkansas Travelers (26-44, 62-78) were hoping to build up a little momentum heading into the playoffs but things didn't get started off on the right foot in the last homestand. The Travs faced the NW Arkansas Naturals for four games before facing the Springfield Cardinals for three. After losses in the first five games of the homestand to push the streak to a season-high eight losses in a row, the Travs did manage to rally to win the final two games of the regular season against the Cards. The Travs' offense finished the year batting .259 with 128 home runs and 556 RBI as a whole. The pitching staff posted a 62-78 record with an ERA of 4.50 and 912 strikeouts.
NW Arkansas Series: Any way you slice it, the Travs had a rough series against the Nats. The offense struggled mightily, batting a paltry .181 and scoring only seven runs in the four games. Compare those stats to the .288 that the Nats hit, leading to their 23 runs scored. The Naturals also played better defense, committing zero errors compared to the Travs' two. The stats aren't the only reason for the four-game sweep but it's hard to win hitting well under .200. The four losses also didn't do much for the psyche of the Travelers who will face these same Naturals in the playoffs.
A 10th-inning home run off the bat of Juan Richardson sent the Travs to a 4-3 loss in game one. The Travs took a 1-0 lead into the top of the sixth only to have the Nats score two in the top of the inning. Corey Smith tied it at two with a solo homer, his 25th of the year. The game stayed knotted until the top of the 10th when Richardson plated two runs with his 15th homer of the year just inside the right-field line. The Travs made it interesting in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run but Adam Morrissey popped up with the tying run at second and the winning run at first.
Bobby Mosebach was again the tough-luck loser for the Travs in game two's 3-0 loss. Mosebach pitched very well, lasting seven innings and giving up just three runs on six hits but was saddled with the loss because the Travs couldn't get anything going offensively. Julio Pimentel kept the Travelers off balance all night, throwing 7.1 scoreless innings and allowing just five hits. Adam Morrissey was the only Travs' batter to do anything against Pimentel, recording two singles and a walk.
The Travelers held a 2-0 lead after six innings but Juan Richardson hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Nats a 3-2 lead. The homer accounted for his second game-winning RBI of the series. The Naturals scored five runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of the Travs' reach en route to an 8-2 victory. Dan Denham started the game for the Travs and pitched well, lasting five innings and keeping the Nats off the scoreboard. Marco Albano was tagged with the loss, giving up three runs in 1.1 innings.
Not much went right for the Travs in game four's 8-2 loss. Amalio Diaz worked five innings and gave up six runs on 10 hits. Meanwhile the Travs were held hitless until Adam Morrissey's single with two outs in the seventh. His two-run homer in the ninth got the Travs on the scoreboard but by that time the Nats had the game well in hand. Dan Cortes pitched six no-hit innings for the Naturals and Paul Mildren finished the final three innings for the save. The loss for the Travs was their seventh in a row.
Springfield Series: While the offense continued to struggle into the series against the Cardinals, batting .225 in the series, the pitching picked up the slack. The Travs' pitching staff limited the Cards to just seven runs in the three games to keep the games close. Despite losing a tough game in the series opener, Arkansas rallied to take the series by winning the final two games of the regular season. C Tim Duff and IF Adam Morrissey were promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Travs received Brian Walker form Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
In game one of the series, Cards' starter Adam Ottavino held the Travs' bats in check, allowing only one run on four hits. The lone run for Arkansas came on Adam Morrissey's fourth homer in his last eight games. Daniel Davidson started the game for the Travs and went only two innings, just enough to get him ready for game one of the playoffs. Fernando Rodriguez, who worked two innings and gave up one run, followed Davidson, was saddled with his 11th loss of the year. The 2-1 loss for the Travs sent them to their eighth consecutive loss, a new season high.
For the first time in over a week the Travelers scored at least one run in the first inning in their 5-3 defeat of the Cardinals. Three first-inning runs provided some cushion for starter David Austen who pitched six innings for his second win of the year. Adam Morrissey was again the star, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. His two hits were his 1,000th and 1,001st of his career. Rafael Rodriguez worked a scoreless ninth inning for the Travs to pick up his 11th save of the season. The 4,775 fans in attendance helped set a new season-high in attendance for the Travs with 373,602 paid attendants on the season.
After trailing since the second inning, the Travelers rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to steal the final game of the 2008 regular season from the Cardinals 3-2. It was the quickest game of the season for the Travs at 1:46 but it was a good win for the home team looking for a jolt heading into the playoffs. Bobby Mosebach pitched well, limiting the Cards to two runs on six hits over seven innings. Going into the eighth inning, the Travs had just three hits but strung four consecutive singles together to take the lead. The hit of the game was a two-run single from Coby Smith. Marco Albano picked up his first Double-A win of the year for his scoreless eighth and Barret Browning picked up his first Double-A save of the year for his scoreless ninth inning.
Who's Hot: Before being called up to Triple-A Salt Lake, Adam Morrissey was on a massive hot streak. He was hitting .394 with four home runs in his last nine games with eight RBI. Brian Stavisky is batting .345 in his last 10 games. Francisco Rodriguez has emerged lately as late-inning help out of the bullpen. He has not given up an earned run since August 11, a span of seven appearances and 13.1 innings. He has struck out 11 in his last 9.1 innings pitched.
Who's Not: Ben Johnson has just one hit in his last five games and only three in his last 10. His averages over those times are .071 and .091 respectively. Jordan Czarniecki is also struggling, batting just .067 in his last four games. Barret Browning has given up seven earned runs in his last five innings pitched.
The Week Ahead: The Travelers enter the playoffs starting on Wednesday with a best of five series against the NW Arkansas Naturals. The first two games of the series will take place in North Little Rock at Dickey-Stephens Park. The rest of the series will be held in NW Arkansas.
Pitching Probables, Travs vs. Naturals:
Wed: LHP Daniel Davidson (1-0, 2.93 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Cortes (10-4, 3.78 ERA)
Thurs: RHP Dan Denham (9-10, 4.44 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Wood (5-7, 5.30 ERA)
Fri: RHP David Austen(2-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Rowdy Hardy (6-11, 4.97 ERA)
Texas League Stories from September 2, 2008
- Travs Weekly Report - Arkansas Travelers
- Texas League update - TL1
- Hammons Field Voted Texas League Field of the Year - Springfield Cardinals
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