Rodriguez homers twice to help Captains win

Published on June 15, 2009 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - Andres Rodriguez had not hit a home run since May 23, had only three doubles since May 27, and was clearly nursing a sore hamstring for a couple of weeks, injured on a two-base hit on May 27. But Monday night at Fair Grounds Field, the Captains' cleanup hitter's bat woke up, as he hit a pair of two-run home runs, with four RBIs on the night, as Shreveport-Bossier got its biggest run total of the year in 14-5 win over the Pensacola Pelicans in front of 1,492.

Catcher Kevin Griffin also drove in four runs for Shreveport-Bossier (12-17) with a bases-loaded triple and a double, as the duo went 5-for-10 at the plate, combining for a single, double, triple and the two homers.

Rodriguez's first home run, his fourth of the season, came off starter Clegg Snipes (0-4) in a five-run fourth that chased Snipes and extended the Captains' lead from 5-4 to 10-4. Jonathan Reynoso tripled to start the inning when his liner to center took a strange hop away from centerfielder Francisco Leandro. After Dwayne White walked and stole second, Rodney Medina singled home Reynoso and White scored on an error by rightfielder Rafael Alvarez. Up came Rodriguez, and he crushed a Snipe offering to left-center to make it 9-4. After two outs and a walk, Brent Solich relieved Snipe, and Griffin greeted him with an RBI double to cap the inning.

That was all the offense Thad Markray (3-3) needed, as he evened his record with a six-inning outing, allowing four runs on six hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts. The Captains' opening day starter struck out the first two men he faced, allowed a run in the third to make it 2-1 Shreveport-Bossier, and then with the Captains ahead 5-1 in the fourth, allowed a solo homer to Antoin Gray leading off the inning, before two more runs scored to make it 5-4, with Pensacola (12-17) batting with the bases loaded and one out. Markray then reared back and struck out Jimmy Mojica and Dallas Christison swinging to preserve the lead and set the stage for Shreveport-Bossier's big bottom half of the inning.

The Captains had taken the lead off Snipe in the second, when an error by Gray prolonged the inning for Albert Gonzalez, who picked up his first RBI of the year with a two-out hit to left field to score B.J. Wheeler. Reynoso then hit a single to score Griffin and make it 2-0. The three runs in the third came on a bases-loaded triple to left-center by Griffin, scoring newcomer Selwyn Langaigne, Wheeler and Christopher Garcia.

Solich pitched admirably in relief, going 3 1/3 innings and throwing 66 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits. He retired Rodriguez on a 3-1 changeup in the fifth, getting a grounder to short, and when the veteran first baseman came up again in the seventh he was looking for another change and got it, hammering his fifth homer of the year to left-center to make it 12-4. After the Pelicans got a run off B.J. Litchfield, who worked two innings in relief, in the eighth, White hit a two-run double off Ulysses Roque to provide the final margin in the bottom of the eighth.

Righty Jakob Cunningham, who was signed earlier in the day by the Captains, came on to finish the game, getting two strikeouts and a groundout from Gray in his first professional appearance, fittingly with Rodriguez squeezing the final out of the game.

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American Association Stories from June 15, 2009


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