Offense breaks out in rout of Sox

Published on July 8, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Grand Prairie AirHogs News Release


AMARILLO, Texas -- The struggling Grand Prairie AirHogs did a number on Amarillo Sox ace Ryan Mitchell and three relievers on Friday, while Josh Rainwater came within an out of a shutout, as the AirHgs crushed the Sox 14-2 at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium.

The offensive onslaught began in the first, when Chris McMurray singled with one out off Mitchell (3-3). After David Espinosa struck out, Greg Porter hit his seventh home run of the year, a two-run drive to right-center that just cleared the fence.

After leaving two men on in the second, Espinosa and Porter started the third with doubles, and Guillermo Martinez singled with two outs to make it 4-0. Grand Prairie (35-17) got an unearned run in the fourth, and with Mitchell done after five, they began to tee off against the Amarillo bullpen.

First up was Corey Bass, who gave up four runs on five hits in the sixth before being lifted after Cesar Nicolas's two-run double to dead center. Jacob Wortham got out of that inning, but walked three and allowed a two-run homer to David Thomas in a three-run seventh. Gary Perinar allowed three hits and two more runs in the eighth, with Danny Figueroa's RBI single finishing the carnage. Third baseman Van Pope was forced to come in to pitch the ninth inning, and ironically pitched a 1-2-3 inning, the only time the AirHogs were retired in order.

Meanwhile, Rainwater (9-2) got around a first and third, one-out jam by inducing a 5-4-3 double play from Lee Cruz in the first, and worked around a similar jam in the fourth with a fielder's choice and a flyout. He allowed one hit in each of the fifth, seventh and eighth innings, including stranding a leadoff double and a one-out triple. But the righty, who struck out six and walked one around nine hits in 8 2/3 innings, was clearly running out of gas as he came out for the ninth.

Thomas robbed Pope of a hit on a diving catch in left to start the inning, and Figueroa ran down Josh Banda's drive to the track for the second out. But Adam De La Garza's hard grounder got past a reaching Espinosa, and Kevin Butler and Jason White hit back-to-back doubles to end Rainwater's shutout attempt after 122 pitches. Jason Moody then came in and got Fehlandt Lentini to ground out to end the game, giving the AirHogs the win.

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