NYPL Vermont Lake Monsters

Expos GM to Spend Extra Time at the Ballpark after Another Loss

June 28, 2003 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Vermont Lake Monsters News Release


BURLINGTON, VT --- A return to Centennial Field didn't help wake up the Vermont Expos offense and that meant General Manager C.J. Knudsen would be waking up Sunday morning at the ballpark.

The Tri-City ValleyCats snapped a 2-2 tie with three unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning to hand the Vermont Expos their sixth straight loss with a 5-2 victory in New York-Penn League action Saturday at Centennial Field.

Making good on a promise made Friday, Knudsen will sleep each night in the Vermont dugout until the Expos can break back into the win column.

"It's a ‘slumper party' at Centennial," Knudsen said. A one-out throwing error by Luis Blanco led to the three unearned runs in the eighth inning off losing pitcher Warmar Gomez (0-1). Tri-City scored on a fielder's choice, RBI double from Brock Koman and a passed ball.

Rodrigo Escobar (1-0) pitched three hitless innings for the victory in relief of Matt Albers, who allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with one walk and eight strikeouts over the first six innings. Expos starter Anthony Pearson was just as effective, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout over six innings.

Vermont took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when they scored two runs with their most effective offensive weapon, the bunt. With runners on first and third with one out, Ja'Mar Clanton' suicide squeeze bunt scored David Lutz. Tony Brown, who started the play at first base, moved to second on the bunt and started for third base on the throw to first. Tri-City first baseman Andy Salmela's throw to third base went over Koman's head and Brown was able to jog home with the second run on the play. Koman was 2-for-4 with the RBI double for the ValleyCats (4-7), while Salmela added two RBI.

Besides Brown's single in the third inning, Vermont's only other hit was a one-out infield single from Clanton in the sixth inning. The Expos have now scored just six runs during the six-game losing streak and have been held to five hits or less in six games (two hits or less in three games).

The two teams will play game two of the five-game series at Centennial Field on Sunday evening beginning at 5:05 p.m. Starting pitchers are Nick Long for Vermont and former University of Vermont hurler Jamie Merchant returning to Centennial Field to start for Tri-City.

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New York-Penn League Stories from June 28, 2003


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