Baysox Storm Past Thunder
August 27, 2008 - Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release
(Bowie, MD) - Baysox starter Zach Clark worked through the seventh inning for his third start in a row, leading Bowie to a 4-2 victory over Trenton Wednesday night. Clark allowed two runs on five hits and a walk through 7.1 innings of work to earn his fourth victory in nine starts for the Baysox. With the victory, the Baysox are one win away from sweeping the six-game season series with the Thunder.
With the victory, the Baysox improve to 82-55 with a 5.5 game lead over the Akron Aeros for first place in the Southern Division. The Baysox are closing in on clinching home field advantage in the first round of the postseason. They will try to make that a reality Thursday when RHP Jason Berken (12-3, 3.37 ERA) goes up against Thunder RHP Jeffrey Marquez (0-1, 3.60 ERA) in the final home game of the 2008 regular season.
The Baysox got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Finan picked up a one-out single and Jeff Nettles followed with a base hit to left field. Mike Rodriguez walked to load the bases and Jonathan Tucker got hit by pitch to bring Finan home and give the Baysox a 1-0 lead. Blake Davis grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Bowie added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Matt Wieters led off and smashed a ground ball up the middle that ricocheted off the leg of Trenton starter Eric Hacker, forcing him to leave the game. Ryan Finan got hit by pitch to put runners on first and second and Jeff Nettles doubled down the left field line, plating Wieters and putting runners on second and third. Mike Rodriguez just missed his second homerun in as many games, driving what turned out to be a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field. Finan came in to score on the out, increasing the Bowie lead to 3-0.
The Thunder scratched out runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings. Colin Curtis hit a one-out bomb to right field for a solo homer in the fifth inning. Edwar Gonzalez led off the sixth with a double to right field. James Cooper grounded out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning, moving Gonzalez to third base. Reegie Corona chopped a ground ball down the first base line that was handled by Ryan Finan for the second out, allowing Gonzalez to score and cut the Baysox lead to 3-2.
Clark has been stellar over his last four outings, working a total of 28.1 innings and allowing just 7 runs in that span. He credits the Bowie coaching staff for allowing him to go so deep into games, "I'm comfortable here. This is probably the longest I've been with any team this year. It feels good. They're letting me throw. At the beginning of the year I wasn't starting and when I was, I was just coming off being a reliever so I wasn't ready to go deep into games. Getting a chance to start here, I had a couple short outings to get going and since then I've been able to go longer. Since I don't strike guys out and I pitch to contact that only helps me."
Clark also received significant help from the defense behind him. He was quick to praise shortstop Blake Davis, who made a number of defensive plays Wednesday. Specifically, Davis ranged to his right to make a play on a ground ball by Colin Curtis in the second inning, making a perfect throw from deep in the hole to retire the runner by a step. "We've faced that hitter before and I know he likes to pull the ball through the hole between third and short. I was just shading him over toward the hole a little bit and he hit a hard ground ball. I was able to get to it and I know he's not the fastest guy so I took my time and got it over."
Davis is equally quick to praise the work of his pitching staff for allowing him to make plays, "The fact that our pitchers throw strikes helps your mentality on defense. It makes the game a little more fun out there. I definitely enjoy it as long as I'm able to make the plays."
The Baysox picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Jonathan Tucker led off by poking a liner down the right field line. The ball bounced around the Bowie dugout, allowing Tucker to reach third base for a leadoff triple. Blake Davis singled up the middle to score Tucker and make the lead 4-2 Bowie.
Wilfredo Perez and Julio Manon combined to work 1.2 perfect innings of relief to shut the door on Trenton. Manon struck out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth to earn his league-leading 32nd save of the year.
The Bowie Baysox are out to Beat The Streaks in their 16th season as the "AA" affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Baysox have not reached the postseason since 1997 and have never reached the Eastern League Championship. Playoff tickets and tickets for all remaining regular season games are available on www.baysox.com or by calling the box office at (301) 464-4865.
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