Senators Wash Out Baysox in 2009 Finale
September 7, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Harrisburg Senators News Release
BOWIE, Md. - Harrisburg jumped out to a three-run first inning lead and held on for a rain-shortened 4-2 victory over the Baysox to close out their 2009 season. The rains at Prince George's Stadium closed out the game before the two teams could begin the bottom of the seventh inning, but not to the surprise of Baysox skipper Brad Komminsk.
"It's a fitting end here this year with all the rain we had," Komminsk joked. "I think this was the only way to end the season."
The Senators strung together four hits in the first inning and pushed across three runs against Baysox right-hander Ryohei Tanaka. With two outs and runners at first and second, Chris Marrero lined an RBI double off the wall in left to score a run and put runners at first and second. Bill Rhinehart followed with a two-run single, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double to end the inning.
The Baysox got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the third inning against Harrisburg right-hander Brad Meyers. Center fielder Matt Angle singled to start the inning and advanced to second when Rhinehart's throw to the infield skipped past the fielders. A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Pedro Florimon moved Angle to third, and third baseman Josh Bell dropped a single into left field to bring him around to score.
Tanaka gave the run back to Harrisburg in the fourth inning, as Rhinehart connected for his 12th home run of the season to make the score 4-1. Tanaka was tagged with his fourth loss of the season, leaving after 5.0 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out four. The 26-year-old Tanaka, who compiled a 4-4 record with a 3.00 ERA in his first season in America after signing with the Orioles out of Japan in the off-season.
"I'm happy to get through the season without injury," Tanaka said through a translator after the game. "Throughout my time in Bowie it was a great experience to play in an American league."
Bell added a run for the Baysox in the bottom of the fourth inning, slamming a solo home run over the secondary wall in right field to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Baysox third baseman clubbed four home runs over the final six games of the season, falling one short of the team lead with 9, despite playing in only 33 games on the season. Bell said he was happy with his performance this season after missing much of 2008 with an injury, but said the time away allowed him to see the game from a different perspective to make him a better player.
"I think (the injury) was the best thing for my career," Bell said. "I was behind the scenes a lot and watching pitchers, seeing some of the things I wouldn't have a chance to if I were playing."
The rain almost brought the tarp crew on the field in the sixth inning, as the game was delayed for only a minute after the rain stopped as the tarp was being put on the field. After left-hander Ryan Rodriguez worked a scoreless inning of relief in the seventh inning, the umpires pulled the teams off the field and postponed the game after a 25-minute delay.
The Baysox end the 2009 season with a 73-69 record, their third consecutive season with 72 wins or more and closed out the best three-year run in Baysox history. Komminsk, who has been around for the past two seasons, was proud of his team for staying in the playoff race despite an exorbitant amount of roster turnover throughout the season.
"A lot of guys went up and down but overall we had a great year," Komminsk said. "We even had a few guys reach the big leagues like (Brian) Matusz and (Jason) Berken, so overall it was a pretty positive year for all the guys."
The 2009 season might be over, but fans can still follow the Baysox in the off-season by going on www.baysox.com, Facebook and Twitter.
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