Polanco Beats McAllen Again

August 15, 2012 - North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


HARLINGEN- Sometimes there are competitions that aren't really competitions at all.

The Harlem Globetrotters will always beat the Washington Generals.

The Road Runner will always elude Wile E. Coyote.

And in the North American Baseball League, Celson Polanco of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings will always beat the McAllen Thunder.

Polanco has defeated McAllen (28-50) in all six of his starts against them this season. His latest triumph came on Wednesday night, a 5-1 five-hit complete game to give the 6-4, 250-pound righthander a 10-4 overall record this season.

"I just prepare for them like every other team," Polanco said in a nonchalant manner.

His catcher, Mario Mercedes, was a bit more descriptive.

"He was a little tough today. All his pitches were working," said Mercedes, who revealed Polanco is now throwing five different kinds of pitches; a fastball, curve, slider, changeup, and split-fingered fastball.

In all, Polanco would retire the first 11 batters he faced, struck out 11, and walked just one batter and allowing one earned run.

Polanco, 27,is now just one victory behind the WhiteWings' single-season record of 11, set by Ryan Whitaker in 1997 and tied by Joe Rodgers in 2007. In seven previous minor league seasons,Polanco, a formerHouston and Toronto farmhand, had never won more than three games in a season.

The WhiteWings took an early 1-0 lead on Wednesday in the bottom of the second inning when Mercedes hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Alex Ruiz off lefthander Alex Smith (3-3).

Leugim Barroso followed with a 2-run single in the third to make it 3-0, and Mercedes' first home run of the season highlighted a 2-run fourth inning to give the WhiteWings (45-32) a 5-0 lead.

"It was a gift," Mercedes said of his home run by the fair pole in left field off Smith, which was the third home run ofMercedes' seven-year professional career. "He threw me a high fastball and I did my best and hit it."

McAllen did touch Polanco for a run on three straight singles from Davis Page, Fidel Hernandez, and Miguel Alfonzo to begin the top of the seventh, but Polanco came back to strike out Henry Gonzalez and get Nelson Teilon to ground out into a double play to end the threat.

The WhiteWings have taken the first two games of their four game series with the Thunder and are 21-9 overall this season against McAllen. The two teams will play the third game of their four game series tonight at 7:05 p.m.



North American League Stories from August 15, 2012


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