Spinners Swing and Miss
Published on July 26, 2013 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Lowell Spinners News Release
NORWICH, CONN. - Ben Verlander hit the first pitch of the eighth inning high over the left field wall, giving the Connecticut Tigers a 3-2 walk-off win over the Lowell Spinners in the second game of a doubleheader Friday night at Dodd Stadium.
With the split, the Spinners gained a half-game on Tri-City in the Stedler Division and now lead the wild-card race at the halfway point of the season by a game over Williamsport.
Connecticut (16-22), which couldn't get a runner past first base in the first game, put two runs across in the second inning with a two-out rally. Pat Leyland singled and moved to third on a double by third baseman Brett Harrison, who broke up Jamie Callahan's perfect game bid in game 1. Left fielder Tyler Gibson laced a single into center off of starter Daniel McGrath to give the Tigers an early lead.
Lowell (20-16) evened the game in the fourth inning as Danny Bethea and Nathan Minnich hit back-to-back singles with one out. After a fielder's choice groundout by Cleuluis Rondon put runners on first and third with two outs, Carlos Asuaje drew a walk and Nick Moore dropped a bases-loaded single into left field that scored Rondon and Bethea.
The Tigers had a chance to win the game in the seventh, putting runners on first and third with one out, and attempted a squeeze bunt. However, Jonathan Aro fielded it cleanly and threw home to get the lead runner and squash the rally.
It didn't matter, however, as Verlander left no doubt with his third homerun of the season in the eighth off of Aro (2-2, 2.15).
McGrath couldn't get out of the fourth inning, as the Tigers put a lot of baserunners on during his outing. He left with two outs in the fourth, allowing two runs on five hits with five punchouts. Aro relieved McGrath in the fourth and cruised until he started to run out of gas in the later innings.
Bethea, a catcher from St. John's University and a 34th round pick of the Red Sox in the 2013 draft, made his season debut for the Spinners tonight behind the plate and was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Minnich, a member of the 2012 Lowell Spinners who joined the team yesterday from the Gulf Coast Red Sox, was 2-for-3 with a double and had four hits in the two games of the doubleheader. Moore also had a multi-hit game, driving in both Spinner runs in defeat.
Teddy Stankiewicz (0-0, 0.00) makes his second start of the season tomorrow night, with Sergio Gomez (1-1, 2.10) following as first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
New York-Penn League Stories from July 26, 2013
- CT Tigers and Spinners Split Double Header - Norwich Sea Unicorns
- 'Cats Fall Short in 5-3 Loss to Vermont - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Spinners Swing and Miss - Lowell Spinners
- Spikes' Big Inning Thrills Big Crowd in 4-1 Win - State College Spikes
- 'Gades Re-Open Division Play with Win - Hudson Valley Renegades
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- Cutters Fall To The Jammers - Williamsport Crosscutters
- Host Tri-City Saturday with Tiki Barber signing autographs pre-game - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Callahan Nearly Perfect as Spinners Maul Tigers - Lowell Spinners
- IronBirds vs. Renegades - Game Notes - July 26, 2013 - Aberdeen IronBirds
- Spikes vs. Doubledays - Game Notes - July 26, 2013 - State College Spikes
- Former Spike Vic Black Makes ML Debut - State College Spikes
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