EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Baysox Sweep B-Mets

Published on July 21, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The Bowie Baysox escaped a late-inning scare to beat the Binghamton Mets 6-5 Wednesday morning. Left fielder Brandon Waring led the offensive charge, going 3-for-3 with three doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. Third baseman Ryan Adams turned a double play with the bases loaded and one out to end the game. In between, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the seventh inning.

"I'm getting better and better every day," Roberts said. "It's nice to get out there and play a couple days in a row. You do realize how hard it is to play every day when you haven't done it in a few months. Offensively things feel good, defensively, we're getting back to where I'd like to be."

The win gave Bowie a three-game sweep over Binghamton, their first since taking three games in a row from Erie June 28 through 30. The Baysox won five of the six meetings between the teams at Prince George's Stadium this year.

Binghamton took a lead in the top of the first inning. Baysox starter Chorye Spoone walked leadoff batter Jonathan Malo to open the game and Malo stole second base. Left fielder Sean Ratliff lined a two-out single to left field, driving in Malo and putting Binghamton up 1-0.

After Spoone retired the Mets in order in the top of the second inning, the Baysox responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Right fielder Joel Guzman led off with a single to right field and scored on Waring's first double of the contest. Greg Miclat delivered a two-out single to center field to push Waring across the plate for a 2-1 Baysox lead, before he was picked off of first base to end the inning.

Malo drew another walk with one out in the third inning, and Spoone walked third baseman Nick Evans and center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis to load the bases with nobody out. Malo scored on a sacrifice fly by Ratliff before first basemen Josh Satin grounded out to end the inning with the score tied 2-2. Spoone settled in after the back-to-back-to-back walks, retiring seven batters in a row.

"You never know what pitching is going to do," Spoone said. "I went out there, and I wasn't real comfortable in the bullpen. I could not find the strike zone, and I gave up those two runs on one hit because I walked the bases loaded, that's the thing that frustrates you the most. What I did have, when my fastball command was struggling in the early innings, was my breaking ball. It was huge, because I needed something to get me out of those first two innings."

Spoone's streak ended when Evans singled to left field with two outs in the fifth inning. Nieuwenhuis followed with a long fly ball to left field, just beyond Waring's reach for an RBI double to put Binghamton up 3-2.

"In the fifth inning, I introduced the change-up," Spoone said. "That made it much more difficult for lefties. They were sitting dead red because they knew I couldn't find the zone in the first couple innings, so when I started to find the zone, they were hacking at the first pitch. I get strike one, and then I pull the string and throw the change-up, they swing it over, and then they've got zero idea what I'm going to throw because they knew I had a good curveball today."

With Bowie still trailing in the top of the sixth inning, Spoone allowed a one-out single to Satin before making a nice play on a groundball off the bat of designated hitter Marshall Hubbard. Spoone threw to shortstop Carlos Rojas who relayed the ball first baseman Joe Mahoney for a double play.

Spoone appeared to be in trouble again in the top of the seventh inning, as Binghamton had runners on first and third base with one out. With Spoone at 100 pitches, Malo swung at the first pitch, grounding the ball back to the mound for another 1-6-3 double play.

Binghamton starter Robert Carson found a groove in the middle innings, retiring eight batters in a row before running into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning. Waring drew a one-out walk and scored two batters later when shortstop Greg Miclat poked a triple down the right field line.

Carson was relieved by Edgar Ramirez after the triple. Rojas followed with a line drive down the right field line, as the Baysox recorded back-to-back RBI triples. Roberts drove a single to left field, scoring Rojas and putting Bowie up 5-3.

"I definitely have looked up to [Roberts], all through college," Miclat said after the game. "It's really neat to watch him go about his business and get to experience it first-hand. Not only to watch him, but to pick his brain on the bench."

Spoone was relieved by left-hander Pedro Viola in the top of the eighth inning. Viola walked Evans to open the inning before inducing a ground ball off the bat of Nieuwenhuis for the Baysox third double play in as many innings. Viola completed a scoreless inning of work with a strikeout.

"I tell the hitters, I'm going to go out there and give them everything I have," Spoone said. "Whether good or bad, they're going to know I busted my butt to try to do whatever I could. Tyler [Henson] came up to me and said, 'If you go out there and battle, give us six or seven innings with three runs, we'll get you a win.' That's exactly what I want and what I think is making us such a power team right now."

Bowie added another run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a pair of doubles. Henson tried to back up his previous comments to Spoone, leading off with a double to right field off Ramirez. After Guzman grounded out, Binghamton turned the game over to left-hander Roy Merritt. The reliever struck out Mahoney for the second out before Waring lofted his third double of the game to right field, plating Henson and putting the Baysox up 6-3.

Right-hander Bob McCrory relieved Viola to open the ninth inning. Satin led off the inning with a single to right field and moved to second on a wild pitch. Hubbard drew a walk and catcher Mike Nickeas was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Second baseman Jose Coronado hit a ball between shortstop and third base, but Rojas made a great play on the ball, ranging to his right and flipping to second base for the first out of the inning. Satin scored on the play to cut the Baysox lead to 6-4.

With runners on the corners and one out, number nine hitter Brahiam Maldonado doubled to left field, scoring Hubbard and putting the tying run on third base. McCrory intentionally walked pinch hitter Raul Reyes to load the bases. After the walk, Baysox manager Brad Komminsk turned the game over to right-hander Pedro Beato with Evans coming to the plate.

Beato wasted little time as Evans hit a hard ground ball to third base on the second pitch of the at-bat. Adams fielded the ball, stepped on third base and threw across the diamond to Mahoney for the Baysox fourth double play in the final four innings, preserving the 6-5 lead.

Talking about his progress after the game, Roberts was pleased.

"It was good [to play nine innings in the field]," Roberts said. "It's hot and this was a good test for my body to see where I am in the whole process. I think it went well today, everything felt good. I'm a little tired, but OK."

"It's nice [to be back in Bowie]," he continued. "You forget what the whole Minor League atmosphere is like. It's fun to be back, you remember your roots and where you came from, what you went through to get to where you are. It's great, the fans here in Bowie have always been great to me and I enjoyed my time here then and now."

Chorye Spoone earned the win, his seventh of the season (7-5, 3.70 ERA), and finished with three runs on six hits through 7.0 innings as he struck out seven batters. Viola and McCrory each recorded holds and Beato notched his team-leading ninth save.

"I'm impressed with the whole team," Roberts said. "They seem to have a very good team. They swing the bats well and the defense has been outstanding. I was talking to the coaching staff, and I said, 'It looks like you guys have really put together a pretty solid team,' and they're excited about it."

With the win, the Baysox improve to 53-45, eight games over .500, matching the high-water mark set April 23. The team is now 5.5 games behind first place Altoona. The Richmond Flying Squirrels arrive in Bowie for a four-game series Thursday at 7:05 p.m. The weekend series includes some of the Baysox best events of 2010, starting with the Nolan Reimold bobblehead giveaway Thursday. The first 1,000 fans ages 3 and up to enter the ballpark receive a bobblehead commemorating the powerful Orioles outfielder, who dazzled fans with a three-home run game at Prince George's Stadium in the 2008 playoffs.

Saturday, July 24, is Star Wars Night, one of the most eagerly anticipated events at Prince George's Stadium, with lightsaber battles between innings by reenactors in movie-quality replica Star Wars costumes. Sunday is Football Funday Sunday, as the Baysox get geared up for the upcoming football season with former NFL players on-hand for a meet-and-greet and autographs.

Think Outside The Box with the Baysox in 2010. The Baysox 18th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway. Catch all the action in Natural Definition! Baysox full-season and partial-season ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the group sales department at (301) 464-4880.

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Eastern League Stories from July 21, 2010


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.

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