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 Joplin Blasters

Solid Pitching Not Enough in Losses to St. Paul

July 6, 2016 - American Association (AA)
Joplin Blasters News Release


Despite a solid effort from their pitching staff, the Joplin Blasters lost twice on Wednesday to the St. Paul Saints, losing a continued game 4-3 before dropping the nightcap 3-2. The losses amounted to the tenth consecutive defeat for the Blasters.

On Tuesday night, the Blasters and Saints were delayed three hours due to inclement weather in the Twin Cities. The game began at 10:15 p.m., and the first six innings were played before the American Association's midnight curfew kicked in and suspended the game.

St. Paul recorded the entirety of their Tuesday offense in the first inning with four runs against starter Alex De La Cruz. Singles by Alonzo Harris and Brady Burzynski were followed by a walk to Nate Hanson that loaded the bases. Angelo Songco drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly, and a Tony Thomas single re-loaded the bases. Willie Argo then hit a two-run single to give the Saints a 3-0 lead, and Aaron Gretz completed the first inning's action on a sacrifice fly.

The Blasters wasted no time in responding, cutting the lead in half in the top of the second inning. Joplin loaded the bases themselves on hits from Geraldo Valentin and Juan Medina, as well as a walk to Sergio Leon. With two outs in the inning, Oscar Mesa clubbed a two-run double to trim the Saints' lead to 4-2.

Edwin Gomez pulled the Blasters within a run in the top of the fourth inning, hitting his second home run of the season. The game remained 4-3 through the sixth inning when the game was called due to the American Association curfew rule.

The game picked up on Wednesday evening, with neither team scoring a run in the final three innings. Roby Romero pitched three innings in his Blasters debut, including the first two frames on Wednesday. De La Cruz was charged with the loss, while Robert Coe earned the win for St. Paul.

Thursday's game began with the Saints taking the lead in the bottom of the second. Songco led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a pair of flyouts. A two-out single by Tony Caldwell got St. Paul on the board. Caldwell advanced to second on an error, but was stranded.

St. Paul's lead moved to 2-0 in the bottom of the third on another two-out hit. Harris started the inning with a single, moving to third on a walk and a fielder's choice. Songco drove him in with an infield single for the second Saint run of the contest.

Charlie Valerio evened the game with one swing of the bat in the top of the fourth. After a leadoff single by Geraldo Valentin, Valerio blasted a pitch from John Straka over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season.

The 2-2 tie did not last long, as the Saints scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom half of the frame. A leadoff walk by Caldwell turned into a run when a wild pitch moved him to second, setting up an RBI single by Harris, again with two outs.

Pitching was dominant in the final five innings of the game. The Blasters' bullpen kept the team in the game, getting three nearly perfect innings from Keith Picht and a three-strikeout eighth from Victor Capellan. Straka was the winning pitcher for the Saints, while Frank Del Valle took the loss in his first game back with Blasters.

After the quick three game road trip, the Blasters return home for four games at Joe Becker Stadium with the Lincoln Saltdogs. The series starts Thursday at 7:05 p.m., with Raul Rivera starting for the home team.

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