Diablos break it open late to take series opener

May 22, 2009 - American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - The consistently inconsistent play of the Shreveport-Bossier Captains continued Friday night, as three El Paso Diablos pitchers held the Captains to five hits and one run in an 8-1 win in front of 2,764 fans at Fair Grounds Field.

El Paso (4-4) turned a 2-1 game into the final margin with six runs in the eighth inning against a pair of Captains relievers, after Shreveport-Bossier (4-4) had just made it 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Tyler Johnson battled back from an 0-2 count to work a walk against lefty reliever Aaron Cunningham. Then, Cunningham picked Johnson off, but the Diablos left fielder made it to second before the throw from first baseman Andres Rodriguez. Adam Hale singled on an 0-2 pitch to knock home Johnson and restore El Paso's two-run lead.

Eddy Rodriguez then doubled, and after Hector Bernal grounded out to first to keep runners at second and third with one out, Kenard Bibbs hit one off the glove of the lunging second baseman Albert Gonzalez through a drawn-in infield to bring home two runs and make it 5-1. The rout was then on, as Arnoldo Ponce singled to chase Cunningham, and Juan Camacho and Jorge Alvarez singled off submariner B.J. Litchfield.

The Captains could only muster one hit in the final two innings of Garvis Romero, and continued their streak of alternating wins and losses now through the first eight games of the season.

Shreveport-Bossier starter Jorge Lugo (0-2) did much better in this start than his first, setting the tone for a pitchers' duel with two strikeouts to start the game. The lefty then escaped a two-runner jam in the second when Roberto Mejia appeared to injure his hamstring rounding third on a base hit by Hale, and Lugo then got Rodriguez to ground out. Lugo was not as fortunate in the third, when with two outs and the bases loaded, Jerry Verasetegui, who came in to pinch run for Mejia, singled to right to bring home a pair and make it 2-0.

Lugo finished with six innings pitched, allowing seven hits and just those two runs, while striking out six and walking three.

Righty Dane De La Rosa (1-0) held the Captains hitless through four innings, before Jose Torres and Rafael Ozuna singled to start the fifth. But Kevin Griffin bounced into a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play and Aaron Cone flied out to end the inning. The Captains got their lone run off a tiring De La Rosa in the seventh, when back-to-back one-out singles by Andres Rodriguez and Torres and a walk to Rafael Ozuna chased the El Paso starter with the bases loaded. Joe Klein came on and gave up a sacrifice fly to Griffin to make it 2-1, but Cone flied out and the Captains never threatened again.

Notes: Matt Petty pitched a scoreless ninth for the Captains, and has not allowed a run all year...El Paso raised their American Association-leading .337 team batting average to .344 with their 16-for-41 performance tonight...The eighth inning was the second time the Captains have let an opponent bat around in the last three games after Grand Prairie scored nine in a 14-batter third inning on Wednesday morning...The one run was a season low for Shreveport-Bossier...El Paso left 12 men on base in addition to the eight runs that the Diablos scored...This opening homestand has seen a more emphatic touch to the see-saw start to the season for the Captains, who have given up three runs on nine hits, 15 runs on 18 hits, one run on four hits, and tonight's eight runs on 16 hits in the first four games.

The Shreveport-Bossier Captains continue their three-game series with El Paso Saturday night May 23, with fist pitch at 7:05. The first 500 fans to Fair Grounds Field will receive a Captains mini bat. All games are broadcast on ESPN Radio, KRMD-1340 AM and streamed live on supertalk1340.com, with streaming video provided by NiftyTV on www.sbcaptains.com for all home games and select road games. For information on tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the Captains, check out the team's Web site at www.sbcaptains.com, or call the Fair Grounds Field office at (318) 636-5555.



American Association Stories from May 22, 2009


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