D-Braves Win Fifth Straight, 10-7
Published on August 18, 2012 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Danville Otterbots News Release
DANVILLE, Va. - The Danville Braves defeated the Bluefield Blue Jays 10-7 Saturday night at American Legion Post 325 Field for their fifth win in a row, which includes three shutouts, two against the Blue Jays. With the win, they move within a game and a half of the first place Burlington Royals.
The D-Braves benefitted from a pair of walks and wild pitches and were first to the scoreboard for the fifth time in as many games. After a hitless campaign in six at-bats last night, second baseman Levi Hyams singled in his first plate appearance. Hyams advanced to second on Blue Jays starter Alberto Tirado's first of two wild pitches.
Tirado issued back-to-back walks to third baseman Carlos Franco and designated hitter Josh Elander. Ball four to Elander was also a wild pitch, which fell all the way to the backstop and let Hyams score and Franco advance. First baseman Aris Alcantara lobbed a deep sac fly to left, which scored Franco and capped the D-Braves two-run first.
For the second game this series, the Blue Jays lifted their starter after the first inning. Tirado did labor through the opening frame and soldiered through 38 pitches.
D-Braves starter Mauricio Cabrera struggled to find the strike zone and was plagued by control problems early on. Blue Jays third baseman Matt Dean hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The bottom of the Blue Jays batting order pulled through when catcher Hector Alvarez also singled.
Cabrera couldn't help his cause and threw his second wild pitch of the inning, which scored Dean. The run broke a consecutive scoreless D-Braves pitching streak of 25 innings.
And Cabrera continued to struggle. Designated hitter Santiago Nessy cracked the third single of the inning and advanced to second on another wild pitch. The errant throw was the third of the inning and sixth in the ballgame. The Blue Jays capped the scoring on first baseman Seth Conner's RBI double, which plated Nessy and tied the game 2-2.
The Blue Jays put together a two out rally and took their first lead of the series in the fifth. After Cabrera struck-out Dean and Alvarez, center fielder D.J. Davis singled. Cabrera then plunked right fielder Jacob Anderson and allowed the go-ahead run to score on 3-hole hitter Christian Lopes's RBI single.
In the sixth, the D-Braves rallied and retook the lead. Franco drew the walk and advanced all the way to third when Elander grounded a ball to Dean, who fielded it cleanly, but then threw it over the head of his first baseman. With nobody out, Alcantara and right fielder Felix Marte hit back-to-back sac flies to make it 4-3.
But the lead was short-lived as the Blue Jays loaded, reloaded the bases, and batted around in the sixth to score three more runs and make it 6-4. D-Braves reliever Clint Wright was one strike away from pitching his way out of the bases loaded jam. He got Lopes to hit a high deep fly ball, but it was misread by center fielder Logan Robbins and fell to the wall for a three-run triple.
In the seventh, Blue Jays reliever Denny Valdez put the tying-run and go-ahead run on base with back-to-back walks to catcher Nick De Santiago and left fielder Kurt Fleming. With Robbins at the plate, Valdez failed to bring his hands apart and balked, which advanced De Santiago to third and Fleming to second. Hyams hit a payoff pitch from Valdez and barreled a ball past the pitcher for a two-run single that tied the game 6-6.
The D-Braves scored four runs on two hits and retook the lead in the eighth. Marte bunted his way on before shortstop Ronald Luna laid down the sac bunt to put Marte in scoring position. With the infield drawn in, De Santiago singled on a full count fastball to put the Braves out in front, 7-6. The D-Braves then benefitted from three hit batsman in the inning, the fourth of the game, and batted around to make it 10-6. The Blue Jays plated one run in their last at-bats for the game-ending 10-7 score.
Cabrera turned in a quality start. He pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three runs (all earned) on seven hits, but left with the no decision.
Tomorrow, the D-Braves and Blue Jays play the second and final twin bill of the series. The doubleheader will begin at 2:00 p.m. Game 2 will follow at 4:00 p.m. or later, depending on when the first game is completed.
Two righties, Ernesto Silva and Rafael Briceno, will toe the rubber in games 1 and 2 for the D-Braves. The Blue Jays will counter with two lefties, Daniel Norris in game 1, and Griffin Murphy in game 2.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Ticket Office at (434) 797-3792 or in-person at the ALP 325 Field Box Office (Mon. - Fri., 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.).
Appalachian League Stories from August 18, 2012
- D-Braves Win Fifth Straight, 10-7 - Danville Otterbots
- Astros shutout Royals 2-0 - Greeneville Astros
- August 19 Set as Doubleheader - Danville Otterbots
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
