EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Baysox Drop Erie In Twin Bill

Published on June 7, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The Baysox closed out their weekend home stand by sweeping both games of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon against Erie. Jake Arrieta tossed a complete game shutout in game one as the Baysox held on for a 1-0 win. In game two, a four-run fourth inning propelled them to a 5-2 victory as right-hander Ryohei Tanaka closed the door on the Baysox third straight win, making Baysox history in the process.

Arrieta took control of the first game from the opening pitch, pounding the strike zone and consistently getting ahead in the count. Brennan Boesch singled with two outs in the first inning and Arrieta retired the next twelve Erie hitters he faced. Before the game, the Plano, Texas native got some words of advice from his wife on how he could attack Erie's top ranked offense.

"She told me ‘you've got to stop throwing so many off-speed pitches and get ahead of people,'" Arrieta said. "I pitched to contact today and my pitch count stayed low."

Arrieta threw 77 pitches in his 7.0 innings of work, 57 of which were strikes. The right-hander did not allow a walk and struck out five SeaWolves to bring his total to 70 on the season, good enough for second place in the Eastern League. His sixth win of the season puts him into a tie for second in the league and ties him with lefty Troy Patton for the team lead.

"We've been stressing to him to use his fastball more," Baysox Pitching Coach Larry McCall said. "He was very aggressive today I thought that was the best he's thrown."

The Baysox scored the only run of the game in the third inning off Erie left-hander Jon Kibler. Left fielder Joe Nowicki led off the inning with a walk. One batter later, center fielder Jonathan Tucker smoked a double into the left-center field gap, scoring Nowicki and putting the Baysox up by one. Kibler was the tough luck loser in game one, tossing a complete game of his own, allowing three hits while walking three and striking out two.

Game two got underway with right-hander Pat Egan on the mound making his second straight start with the Baysox. The 6-foot-7-inch right hander allowed an RBI double to Alex Avila in the first inning and a solo home run to Cale Iorg in the second before settling into a groove.

"It's different," Egan said of moving to into a starters role after eleven appearances in the bullpen for Delmarva. "It's been an adjustment getting into a different routine but I'm starting to make adjustments."

After going hitless in the first three innings, the Baysox got things going in the fourth against Erie starter Ramon Garcia. Valido singled with one out for the first hit of the game for the Baysox. Snyder followed with a two-run blast down the left field line for his tenth home run of the season, tying the game at two apiece. The blast was the first since May 24 for the Baysox slugger, who missed the Trenton series earlier in the week because of a back injury.

"It was still a little bit sore the first couple of games but it felt much better today," Snyder said. "I looked at Figgy (Paco Figueroa) and told him I was going to try and catch one out in front and I was lucky to keep it inside the pole."

Right-hander Cody Satterwhite came on to replace Garcia with one out in the fourth inning. Left fielder Miguel Abreu greeted him with a single to center to give right fielder Ambiorix Concepcion a chance with two outs. Concepcion took the first pitch he saw from Satterwhite and crushed it over the secondary wall in left for a go ahead two-run blast, putting the Baysox up 4-2.

They would add another run in the eighth on a defensive miscue by the SeaWolves. With Tucker on second and two out, Valido grounded a ball to Scott Sizemore at second that should have ended the inning. Instead, the ball kicked off of Sizemore's forearm and Tucker scampered home with an insurance run to make the score 5-2.

Right-hander Ryohei Tanaka came on in the sixth, making his first professional appearance since being signed by the Orioles in the offseason. He is the first Japanese-born player in Baysox history. The 26-year-old Tanaka pitched two scoreless innings of relief, starting a 1-6-3 double play in the ninth to end the game. He earned his first career save as the Baysox locked down their third straight win.

"He's got five pitches and it looks like he can throw all of them for strikes," McCall said. "He's played baseball a long time and he really looks like he understands the game."

With the win, the Baysox take three out of four from second place Erie over the weekend, improving their record to 29-27 on the season. After an off day tomorrow, the Baysox travel to Connecticut to start a three-game set with the Defenders. LHP Troy Patton (6-2, 1.85) takes the mound for the Baysox, looking to earn his team-leading seventh win of the season. Game time Tuesday is set for 6:35 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT.

The Baysox 17th season as the class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway! Check out www.baysox.com to see all that's going on at the stadium this year, and don't miss a moment of the action as the Baysox attempt to bring home their first Eastern League championship. Individual game tickets and ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the Baysox box office at (301) 464-4865.

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Eastern League Stories from June 7, 2009


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