Glasser's Walk-Off Earns DH Split for Blasters
August 27, 2016 - American Association (AA)
Joplin Blasters News Release
A walk-off double by Mitch Glasser earned a doubleheader split for the Joplin Blasters on Friday night, as the Blasters dropped the opening contest to the Laredo Lemurs 4-3 before picking up the dramatic 6-5 win in the nightcap. With the split, Laredo is now 1.5 games back of Winnipeg in the wild card hunt.
In the opener, the teams traded runs in the first inning. The Lemurs took the initial lead on a solo home run from Ty Morrison, his fifth of the season. Joplin answered after a walk to Mitch Glasser, when Geraldo Valentin hit an RBI single. The single was the 116th hit of the season for the veteran, the highest total in the two years of Blasters baseball.
The second inning again saw both teams score, this time with the Lemurs outscoring the Blasters. Laredo's scoring again came via home runs. Zane Chavez led off the inning with his sixth homer of the season, and Burt Reynolds followed two batters later with his Association-leading 24th. The response from the Blasters came quickly, on back-to-back hits. Conor Sullivan started the frame with a single, and came around to score on Alex Polston's double to left center field.
Leading 4-2, Laredo added their sole non-homer aided run in the top of the third. Denis Phipps hit a one-out single, and advanced to third base after a steal and a Joplin error. Morrison then drove in his second run of the game with a single to left field, increasing the Lemurs' lead to two runs.
Starter Jose Nivar and relief pitchers Manny Martinez and Jeff Inman kept the Blasters off the board until the bottom of the seventh and final inning. Polston was the first hitter of the inning, and he launched his second professional home run. A single by Axel Johnson, a fielder's choice from Sergio Leon, and a Glasser single nearly tied the game for the Blasters, but Leon was thrown out at the plate on the single from Glasser.
Martinez was the winning pitcher for the Lemurs, while Inman earned the save. Bobby Orozco took the loss, but relief pitcher Harrison Lee tossed 4.1 scoreless innings in his Blaster debut.
The Blasters never trailed in the nightcap, despite needing the seventh-inning heroics. Valentin got Joplin on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The infielder set another Blaster record with his 16th home run after curling an 0-1 pitch around the left field foul pole. His 57th RBI of the campaign also set a team-high for the past two years.
Another two runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the second, stretching the lead to three. KC Huth was hit by a pitch and Ermindo Escobar walked, and a bunt moved the runners to second and third. Huth scored on a suicide squeeze off the bat of Johnson, who ended up safe at first. Leon then singled into center, scoring Escobar and giving the Blasters a 3-0 advantage.
Home runs again allowed the Lemurs to strike, this time in the top of the third. A leadoff single from Brennan Metzger led to a pair of runs when Abel Nieves clubbed a two-run homer, the third time he has left the yard this season.
Joplin wasted no time in re-extending the lead to three runs, doing so in the bottom of the third. On the second pitch of the inning, Valentin was plunked. On the third, Edwin Gomez belted a two-run shot to right field, marking his fourth homer of 2016.
Yet again, Laredo responded with a home run. A three-run homer from J.D. Pulfer tied the game at five after Jesus Posso and Chavez each drew a walk.
The 5-5 score stuck until the bottom of the seventh. Victor Ramirez tossed two scoreless innings for the Blasters, and Roby Romero threw a nearly spotless seventh, setting him up for the victory.
Leon began the bottom of the seventh with a single through the middle of the infield. Glasser then stepped to the plate, faked a bunt, and drilled a line drive nearly out of Joe Becker Stadium. The double brought Leon in to score from first, sparking a wild celebration on the field in front of one of the biggest crowds of the season.
With the series even at one, the Blasters and Lemurs continue the series at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Righthander Santos Arias gets the ball for the Blasters on another free ticket night, presented by Teleperformance.
American Association Stories from August 27, 2016
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- RailCats Make Two Moves Ahead of Deadline - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Glasser's Walk-Off Earns DH Split for Blasters - Joplin Blasters
- Explorers Beat Goldeyes in Opener - Winnipeg Goldeyes
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