EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Baysox And Phillies Split Wild Pair

Published on June 6, 2008 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


(Bowie, MD) - The Baysox split their doubleheader with the Reading Phillies Thursday in Bowie. The first game was the completion of the suspended game from Tuesday, June 3rd and the Baysox would go on to win, 9-8 in eleven innings. The second game was Thursday's regularly scheduled game, a pitcher's duel the Baysox lost 2-1, handing Chris Tillman his first loss of the season. The second game was a seven inning game.

The Baysox came into the first game down 1-0 in the top of the second. They would tie the game in the bottom of the second. Jeff Nettles led off with a double to left field and advanced to third on a wild pitch by new pitcher Carlos Carrasco. With one out, catcher Brian Peterson brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

Reading answered with a run in the top of the fourth. With one away, right fielder Jeremy Slayden hit a double to right and advanced to third on a base hit by Brad Harman. Mike Eylward hit a ground ball to third but it was fumbled by Travis Brown, allowing Slayden to score and put the Phillies back in front, 2-1.

Bowie's bats came alive in the home half of the fifth inning. Kennard Jones led off with a double to left and moved to third on a wild pitch by Carrasco. Carrasco retired the next two batters, but then walked Mike Rodriguez and hit Carlos Rojas with a pitch to load the bases with two away. Carrasco walked Jonathan Tucker to bring the tying run home for the Baysox, but the inning was not over. Next up, first baseman Jeff Nettles smashed a no-doubter over the fence in left field for the first Baysox grand slam of the year, putting Bowie ahead 6-2.

Reading stormed back in the top of the sixth. Jeremy Slayden led off with a walk, and consecutive singles by Brad Harman and Mike Eylward loaded the bases with no outs. Neil Sellers drew a walk to bring in the first Phillies run of the inning. With the bases still loaded, Michael Spidale came up with a base hit to right center, bringing Harman in and cutting the Bowie lead to 6-4. Ryan Keefer came in to relieve Jason Berken and Jason Donald welcomed him to the game by ripping a double down the left field line, clearing the bases and reclaiming the lead for the Phillies, 7-6. Reading added a little insurance in the top of the ninth when Joey Hammond and Jeremy Slayden hit back to back doubles, extending the lead to 8-6.

The Baysox fired back in the bottom of the ninth. Reading brought in reliever Patrick Overholt and he walked Kennard Jones to lead off the inning. Ryan Finan came in to pinch hit for Travis Brown and crushed a homerun over the wall in right field to tie the game at 8. It was the first pinch-hit homerun of the season for the Baysox, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Finan was confident going into the at-bat, "Brad told me earlier in the inning I might be pinch-hitting for Travis Brown, so I was ready. I saw Kennard got on and I've faced this guy (Overholt) plenty of times. I was just looking for a pitch up, and he left a slider up there and I was able to get a hold of it."

It looked as though the Baysox would end the game in the bottom of the tenth inning. With Jeff Nettles on second and two outs, Kennard Jones hit a bloop into center when Greg Golson raced towards the infield and dove headlong to make a diving catch to extend the game.

Bowie finally managed to seal the deal in the bottom of the eleventh inning. With two outs and nobody on, Mike Rodriguez hit a double into center field and Carlos Rojas brought him in with a base hit to left for the winning run.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the pitchers took over. Bowie's Chris Tillman went toe-to-toe with Reading's Fabio Castro. The two combined for 16 strikeouts in 8.2 innings. Tillman picked up his first loss of the year, but was not discouraged after the game, "I felt real good about all my stuff tonight. It was the best stuff I've had so far. I was excited about it, I feel I pitched real well."

The Phillies struck quickly in the top of the second inning when Jeremy Slayden led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch. With a man down, Luke Appert picked up an RBI with a base hit to left field, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

The Baysox got one back in the bottom of the fourth when Jeff Nettles drew a one out walk. With two down, Ryan Finan singled through the hole between first and second and Nettles advanced to third base. The Phillies took starter Fabio Castro out and replaced him with Josh Outman. Outman hit Jonathan Tucker with a pitch, loading the bases for the Baysox with two outs. Catcher Brian Valichka drew a walk to drive in the Bowie run and tie the game at 1-1.

Reading answer right back in the top of the fifth. Neil Sellers led off with a double to center and Luke Appert earned his second RBI of the contest with a single through the hole between first and second, seizing the lead back for the Phillies, 2-1. Baysox manager Brad Komminsk was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the fifth.

The Baysox threatened to score again in the bottom of the fifth but could not convert. With two outs and men on first and second, Nolan Reimold laced a single into right field. Carlos Rojas got a late stop sign from acting third base coach Moe Hill and was caught in a rundown to end the threat. The Baysox collected only one more hit in the losing effort, bringing their record to 34-25 for the season, just half a game behind first place Harrisburg in the Southern Division.

The Bowie Baysox are in their 16th season as the "AA" affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Baysox individual game tickets, season ticket plans, group outings, picnics and birthday parties are currently available for booking by calling the Baysox front office at (301) 464-4880.

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Eastern League Stories from June 6, 2008


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