Paint it black
April 26, 2004 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Edmonton Trappers News Release
Left-hander Travis Blackley (1-2) earned his first Triple-A victory, allowing just one run on five hits and three walks, while fanning four in 7.0 stellar inning on the hill as the Tacoma Rainiers downed the Edmonton Trappers 8-3 Monday night at TELUS Field. Blackley, rated by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the Mariners organization, was making his fourth Triple-A start. He spent all of 2003 with Double-A San Antonio, going 17-3 with a 2.61 ERA. The Australian native was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year after posting the most wins by a TL hurler in 25 years. Tacoma has won two of the first three games in this series and has scored 21 runs in the process. The Rainiers banged out 18 hits on Monday night a season-high for a Trapper opponent. Edmonton slipped back into second place in the North Division of the PCL with the loss. They trail the Salt Lake Stingers by one game. The Trappers and Rainiers conclude this four-game series on Tuesday night at TELUS Field.
Edmonton opened the scoring with a single run in the bottom of the first inning. Center fielder Brandon Watson led off the frame with a triple off Blackley. With one out shortstop Anthony Medrano singled to left field, scoring Watson from third. Tacoma took the lead with two runs in the third inning off Trappers' starter Josh Karp (0-3). Right fielder Elpidio Guzman singled with one out in the frame and stole second. Left fielder Justin Leone followed with a single to left-center field that scored Guzman with the first run of the game. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield single by designated hitter Bucky Jacobsen. The Rainiers took a three-run lead in the fourth inning when Mickey Lopez led off with a single and later scored on a single to left-center by Guzman. Back-to-back home runs by Wiki Gonzalez and Jose Lopez to lead off the fifth inning gave the Rainiers a 5-1 advantage. Mickey Lopez followed the homers with a triple, spelling the end for Karp. Sherwood Park native Mike Johnson replaced the right-hander and allowed a one-out single to Ramon Santiago that scored Lopez with Tacoma's sixth run.
Blackley recovered from the opening inning run to retire eight consecutive batters before waking Medrano and Ryan Church back-to-back in the fourth inning. He held the Trappers hitless from the second inning through the fifth. Brian Harris and Church singled in the sixth inning, but Edmonton was unable to mount a rally against the Mariners prospect. The Rainiers added another run in the seventh inning off Johnson. With one out Luis Ugueto singled to center field and moved to third on a two-out single by Guzman. Leone followed with a base hit to left field, plating Ugueto with the Rainiers seventh run. Ugueto scored Tacoma's final run on a fielder's choice in the ninth inning. Edmonton managed two runs in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Randy Williams. With one out Scott Hodges reached on an error by Jose Lopez. Julius Matos followed with a two-run home run that closed out the scoring. It was the first home run by a Trapper player other than Valentino Pascucci since Randy Knorr went deep in the final game played in Yuma, Arizona on April 15.
Highlights:
Trappers: Have an 11-8 record.have lost two of three in this series.began the day with the second highest team batting average in the PCL (.311).entered the day as the highest scoring team in the PCL.have scored 112 runs in the first 19 games of the season, an average of 5.9 runs per game.have hit just 10 home runs, the lowest total in the league, but have stolen 21 bases, tied for the most in the PCL before Monday's games.
C Randy Knorr: Was 0-for-4, ending his Trapper season-high 12-game hitting streak.was 21-for-46 (.457) with one home run and 12 RBI during the streak.
RHP Mike Johnson: Sherwood Park native made his first appearance at TELUS Field in a Trapper uniform.allowed one run on five hits, while fanning two in 3.0 innings of relief.has a 2.93 ERA in six outings this season.
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 26, 2004
- Paint it black - Edmonton Trappers
- Sounds' Win Streak Snapped With 11-2 Loss - Nashville Sounds
- Trappers make six roster moves - Edmonton Trappers
- Beavers Sweeney named PCL Pitcher of the Week - Portland Beavers
- Valentino Pascucci, Brian Sweeney Win PCL Player of the Week Honors - PCL1
- John Grisham To Appear At Greer Stadium On Tuesday - Nashville Sounds
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