EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Domonic Brown Dominates Baysox

Published on June 22, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


READING, Pa. -- The Bowie Baysox lost 7-5 to the Reading Phillies Tuesday night, hit hard by one of the Eastern League's top players, Reading right fielder Domonic Brown. Brown, the Philadelphia Phillies' top prospect, according to Baseball America, went 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of home runs and three RBIs.

Left-handed pitcher Nate Nery made his Double-A debut for the Baysox, and took a loss as he was knocked around for five runs off 11 hits in 5.0 innings on the mound. Nery had built up a 3.79 ERA in 13 starts for the Frederick Keys prior to joining the Baysox.

The Baysox got off to a strong start, with a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Left fielder Tyler Henson hit a two-out double to center field, his team-leading 19th of the season. First baseman Joel Guzman followed with a fly ball that Reading center fielder Quintin Berry had an easy play on, but could not corral, allowing Henson to score as Guzman took second base.

Berry led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, and moved to second when Brown singled to center field. Phillies first baseman Tagg Bozied drilled a double down the left-field line to send both runners across the plate to take a 2-1 lead. Designated hitter Matt Rizzotti sent a ground ball into left field for a single that moved Bozied to third, where he scored to take a 3-1 lead on third baseman Cody Overbeck's single to Baysox shortstop Carlos Rojas.

From that point on, Reading starter Drew Naylor settled into a groove, and retired 12 Baysox batters in a row. Meanwhile, the Phillies tacked on a run in the bottom of the third inning, with an RBI single by Rizzotti that plated Bozied from second base after his two-out double. They added another run in the fifth, when Brown led off with a home run to right field that gave Reading a 5-1 lead.

The Baysox shaved a run off the deficit in the top of the seventh inning when third baseman Brandon Waring sent Guzman home from first with a double to left field.

Brown, who is in the Eastern League's top three in batting average, home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage and extra-base hits, put the Baysox in an even deeper hole at 7-2, when he hit his second home run of the night off right-handed reliever Eddie Gamboa with outfielder Michael Spidale on base.

The Baysox made one last effort to get into the game with a ninth inning rally, that could have sent their game into extra innings for the third consecutive game. Guzman hit a one-out double up the middle of the diamond and moved to third on designated hitter Robbie Widlansky's groundout to first base. Catcher Caleb Joseph picked up his first hit of the night and tallied his 30th RBI of the season with a two-out single to right field that plated Guzman. Waring, who hit a walk-off home run on Sunday to defeat the Harrisburg Senators, put his recently rediscovered power on display with his 12th home run of the year, which brought the Baysox within striking distance at 7-5. Waring has hit four home runs in six games over the past week, after hitting just three long balls in his previous 40 games.

In the end, the rally served only to make the score line more respectable, as the Baysox momentum could not overcome a paucity of outs. The loss, their third of the season to Reading, dropped the Baysox to 36-34. They are still in second place in the Eastern League's Western Division, but now stand 10 games out of first place.

The take on the Phillies again Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. and will wrap up their three-game series on Thursday. The club then heads west for three games with the Altoona Curve with a chance to carve into the Curve's division lead.

They return to Bowie on Monday, June 28, for eight games against the Erie SeaWolves and Akron Aeros. The series with Erie includes a doubleheader on Monday and Daddy/Daughter Date Night on Wednesday, June 30. Fathers and their daughters can get two reserved tickets and two hot dogs for $20, with additional tickets available for $10 each.

The Aeros roll in to town during the Baysox All-American Weekend, featuring fireworks shows on July 2, 3 and 4. Saturday, July 3, is Stress Less Saturday, with a chance to win a family vacation courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Sunday, July 4, is the Baysox Independence Day Celebration, with a spectacular extended fireworks show and an auction of special stars-and-stripes Baysox jerseys that will benefit AMVETS.

Check out the Chesapeake Baysox Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from June 22, 2010


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