EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Baysox Back in the Picture

Published on September 2, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The Bowie Baysox reclaimed second place in the Eastern League's Western Division with a resounding 7-2 victory over the first place Altoona Curve Thursday night. The win puts Bowie at 74-64 for the year and gives them a half-game edge over the Harrisburg Senators, who fell 7-2 at New Hampshire.

"The guys have battled all the way down the stretch; we had a really bad stretch a couple weeks ago," Manager Brad Komminsk said. "The guys bounced back really well and put together a nice little streak. You want to get there. The guys haven't given up. It would have been easy to fold up the tent a week or two ago, but they didn't do it. They kept playing and battling and got themselves in a position to have a chance to be a playoff team."

Eastern League home run leader Joel Guzman blasted his way into Baysox history in the bottom of the first inning, tying the Baysox single-season record with his 33rd home run of the year. He matched the record that Walter Young set in 2004 with four games left to claim the title for himself.

"It's a pretty good year for me, I've been working a lot," Guzman said. "My swing is getting where I want it to be. You always want more, and after I got the home run in my first at-bat, I struck out and they put some pretty good pitches on me."

The win capped off an impressive series by the Baysox against the Western Division pennant winners, defeating two starting pitchers with sub-3.00 ERAs and a third who entered the series at 3.12. The Baysox have claimed the season series over Altoona five games to two.

"It definitely gives us a boost [to beat Altoona], and if we make the playoffs, I'm pretty sure we will play well because we're gonna keep playing hard," Guzman said. "We last played Altoona two or three months ago and within our division, it's tough to play a team so few times. That's a good team, and we've been refreshed on them, we know their players and we're gonna be ready for battle."

Starting pitcher Rick Zagone notched his eighth quality start out of 11 starts with Bowie as he improved to 5-5 on the season. He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks through 6.0 innings as he struck out four batters.

"I felt good overall, my arm was feeling well," Zagone said. "I had my velocity back and my change-up was working for me early and I dumped in some sliders when I needed to. I felt like I had good location, and I kept hitters off balance."

"He's done a nice job," said Pitching Coach Kennie Steenstra, "he's given us six or seven innings almost every start. That's all we ask of our starters, try to keep us in the game through six or seven and give us a chance to win late in the game, and he's done a nice job of that since he's been here."

Left fielder Danny Figueroa drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the first inning ahead of All-Star Ryan Adams' single to left field. Figueroa and Adams advanced on a wild pitch before Guzman launched a homer to left-center field that gave Bowie a 3-0 lead.

Guzman has gone on a tear recently, powering the Baysox down the stretch with five home runs in his last eight games as he has tallied 12 RBIs. He has now homered in three consecutive games, approaching his streak of four games from April 21-24 that set the tone for his record-breaking season.

Altoona scored their first run in the top of the third inning. Second baseman Chase d'Arnaud hit a single to left field and stole second base before Josh Harrison drove him in with a single up the middle of the diamond. The Curve struck again to cut the Baysox lead to 3-2 with a solo home run by Miles Durham that started the top of the fourth inning.

The Baysox put together a two-out rally with three consecutive doubles in the bottom of the fourth inning that expanded their lead. Catcher Steve Lerud was hit by a pitch and moved to third on right fielder Jonathan Tucker's double down the left field line. Shortstop Carlos Rojas knocked out the next two-bagger with a line drive to center field that plated Lerud and Tucker. 20-year-old center fielder Xavier Avery completed the rally with a double down the right field line that sent Rojas across the plate for a 6-2 lead.

"Tonight was easy to pitch with great offense like we had today," Zagone said. "Once you get a big lead like that, you've just got to go out there and minimize the damage and try to get through nine innings."

The Curve threatened in the top of the fifth inning as they loaded the bases with two outs before Rojas tracked back to snag a fly ball in shallow left field to get Zagone out of the jam.

Bowie added one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Adams led off with a first-pitch homer to right field, giving the Baysox the 7-2 lead that they carried to the end. It was the 14th home run of the year for Adams, and his first since Aug. 23, giving him a career-high 66 RBIs this season.

Right-hander Josh Perrault came on in relief of Zagone in the seventh inning and put in two solid innings as he faced one batter over the minimum with a single in the top of the eighth inning.

Reliever Sean Gleason closed out the game for the seventh time this season and notched two quick outs before d'Arnaud hit a single to right field. Harrison followed him with a single grounded to left field before a Jordy Mercer single to left field loaded the bases. Gleason personally recorded the final out, covering first base to retire designated hitter Andrew Lambo on a groundout.

"We definitely want to make the playoffs right now," Zagone said. "We're fighting every day; we've got guys who are hurt and trying to get back and make the series for us. It's going to be fun, I've never been in the playoffs yet, so I'm looking forward to it."

The Baysox close out their third consecutive winning season with four games in Richmond, beginning Friday at 7:05 p.m. with Japanese hurler Ryohei Tanaka taking the mound. The playoff chase will likely go down to the wire, with Harrisburg facing Binghamton for five games in New York. Should the Baysox qualify for the playoffs, the team will travel to Altoona to begin the Eastern League Divisional Series on Wednesday, Sept. 8, then return to Bowie for game three on Friday, Sept. 10 and, if necessary, game four on Saturday, Sept. 11. If the Baysox finish tied with Harrisburg for second place, they will face the Senators in a one-game playoff at Prince George's Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

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Eastern League Stories from September 2, 2010


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