EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Sea Dogs Flood Baysox

August 4, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


PORTLAND, Maine - The Bowie Baysox turned in one of their best offensive performances of the year, but a season-high 19 hits were not enough to beat the Portland Sea Dogs Tuesday, as Bowie lost 14-8. Both teams' bats were hot as they combined for 36 hits, with 14 for extra bases.

Second baseman Carlos Rojas and third baseman Ryan Adams led the way for the Baysox, as Rojas went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs and Adams went 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Adams is up to an Eastern-League leading 36 doubles, and is poised to shatter the Baysox single-season record of 39 doubles, held jointly by Rick Short (2000) and Oscar Salazar (2007). Rojas, meanwhile, has gone 7-for-9 in his last two games with six RBIs and is on a six-game hit streak.

First baseman Joe Mahoney continued his blinding pace to start Double-A ball, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Mahoney recorded his 11th multi-hit game in 22 appearances for the Baysox, leaving him with a .417 batting average and .738 slugging percentage after 84 at-bats.

Though eight runs are usually enough to win, the Baysox failed to truly capitalize on their offensive explosion due to poor timing in their hits as rally after rally built and then died. The Baysox left runners on base in every inning, and finished with 14 men stranded as they went 7-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Three errors also sabotaged Bowie's efforts, as the Sea Dogs scored five unearned runs.

Starting pitcher Eddie Gamboa lasted just 3.0 innings with four runs on eight hits, as he struck out four batters, but received a no-decision thanks to the Baysox promising start to the game.

Shortstop Greg Miclat led off with a double to left field to open the first inning, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Adams drove him in for the game's opening run with a single to left field.

Portland answered the Baysox challenge in the bottom of the first. Center fielder Che-Hsuan Lin hit a single up the middle, and Nate Spears followed with a double to right field that allowed Lin to score and tie the game at 1-1 as Joel Guzman mishandled the ball.

The Baysox continued to attack the Red Sox affiliate in the top of the second inning, which designated hitter Brandon Waring led off with a double to center field. Two outs later, Rojas drove him in with a double to right field before scoring on Miclat's single to left field for a 3-1 Baysox lead

Bowie stayed on track through the top of the third inning as Mahoney hit a one-out single to right-center field before Waring and center fielder Danny Figueroa drew walks to load the bases. Catcher Adam Donachie, the only player in the lineup not to record a hit on the night, struck out for the second out, but Rojas kept the rally going with a single to left-center field that rotated the runners as Mahoney scored. Miclat drove in his second run of the day by drawing a walk that gave Waring a free pass across the plate. Two runs for a 5-1 lead were all the Baysox would get, though, as Adams struck out for the third out with the bases left loaded.

The Baysox began to unravel on the mound in the bottom of the third, as the Sea Dogs first three batters recorded hits to score a run and leave runners on second and third before the first out was recorded. After the out, Portland third baseman Ryan Khoury hit a single to right field that drove in two more runs, leaving the Baysox hanging to a one-run lead after the dust settled.

Portland erased that lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lin led off with a single against reliever Sean Gleason and moved to third as Spears' grounder slipped past Mahoney for an error. Lin moved to third on a fly out and Spears took third on a wild pitch as Lin held his ground. Portland first baseman Anthony Rizzo lifted the second of his three doubles in the game to center field, plating Lin and Spears for a 6-5 Sea Dogs lead.

The Baysox continued to fight through the top of the sixth inning. Guzman singled to left field with one out, and scored on Mahoney's double up the middle of the diamond, tying the game at six runs apiece.

The Sea Dogs continued to knock Gleason around in the bottom of the sixth, and broke the game open with five runs on five hits. Lin hit a single and scored on Spears' double before a walk to Ray Chang spelled the end for Gleason, as right-hander Bob McCrory took the mound.

McCrory induced a double play from the first batter he faced, but struggled to record the third out. Rizzo returned with a single, and scored on Jorge Padron's double to right field. Khoury drew a walk to join Padron on base, and they both scored on Chih-Hsien Chiang's double to right field, leaving the Sea Dogs with an 11-6 lead.

Portland built on that lead as they dumped three more runs on the Baysox in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lin reached first on an error charged to Adams and stole second before Chang was hit by a pitch before Rizzo's third double drove Lin across the plate and a Padron single drove in two more runs for a 14-6 lead over the Baysox.

The Baysox mounted one last rally in the top of the ninth inning. Rojas hit a one out single into left field, and moved to second on Miclat's walk. Adams hit a double that plated Rojas as Miclat took third base and crossed home on left fielder Tyler Henson's single up the middle, cutting the deficit to 14-8. The Baysox comeback was cut off after Henson's RBI single, as Guzman grounded into a double play to end the game.

The Baysox remain in second place, at 59-50, 4.0 games behind first place Altoona and 2.5 ahead of Akron for the Western Division's final playoff spot.

Bowie plays two more games in Portland before moving on to a three-game set in the Granite State against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. They return home Tuesday, August 10 for three games with the Sea Dogs. That series includes a spectacular fireworks show on Tuesday, August 10, for Navy Night and Orioles Pride Night on August 12.

Think Outside The Box with the Baysox in 2010. The Baysox 18th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is nearly over. Catch all the action in Natural Definition! Baysox full-season and partial-season ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the group sales department at (301) 464-4880.

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Eastern League Stories from August 4, 2010


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