Sports stats



EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Sun Shines On Baysox in Twin Bill

May 7, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The sky cleared, the sun came out and the Baysox took both games of Thursday afternoon's twin bill at Prince George's Stadium. Lefty Troy Patton shut the Trenton bats down in game one and the Baysox offense got the job done on their way to a 6-0 shutout. Game two saw the Baysox come back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth behind a two-run blast by first baseman Brandon Snyder to close out the home stand with a 4-3 victory.

Patton was marvelous in the first game, allowing only one runner past first base in six innings of work. The Baysox southpaw mixed in some changeups and breaking balls on his way to striking out six hitters on the day, allowing two singles and a walk while also hitting a batter.

"I used all three (of my pitches) well," Patton said of his performance. "None of them were spectacular but I threw some good ones when I needed them."

Before being acquired from the Houston in the Miguel Tejada trade in 2007, Patton saw time with the Astros in 2007 before missing the 2008 season after shoulder surgery. He returned in 2009 hoping to put the injury behind him and get back to being the pitcher he was before the injury. In five starts this season, Patton is now 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work.

"It felt really good today," Patton said of his arm after a nine day layoff due to inclement weather. "I played more catch (during the break) and it helped me get locked in on my target."

The Baysox offense got the ball rolling in the first inning off Trenton starter Ryan Pope. With one out, left fielder Jonathan Tucker singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Designated hitter Paco Figueroa followed with a double down the line in right to bring home Tucker, and scored two batters later on a single by third baseman Melvin Dorta.

They broke the game open in the fourth thanks to the long ball. With one out, Melvin Dorta flied one down the left field line towards the corner. Trenton left fielder Colin Curtis nearly made a spectacular catch to bring it back, but the ball tipped off his glove for Dorta's first home run of the season. Back-to-back singles by second baseman Miguel Abreu and right fielder Joe Nowicki put runners at first and second to give the Baysox another scoring chance. One batter later, shortstop Robert Valido crushed the Pope offering deep into the trees in left field for a three run homer to put the Baysox up six. Valido, not known for his power, took some heat from his teammates about his power surge.

"He threw me three changeups my first at-bat," said reliever Valido. "I went up there looking for a fastball on the first pitch and I got it."

Baysox reliever Ryan Keefer was not sure if he believed Valido had that much power, jokingly asking for his bat to be inspected in the clubhouse.

When asked if he had ever hit a ball that far before, Valido quickly responded, "Never."

Wilfrido Perez came on and worked a scoreless seventh inning, his tenth straight scoreless outing to open up 2009. The 24-year-old lefty has now worked 11.0 scoreless innings on the season, holding opposing hitters to a meager .143 batting average.

The two teams looked to be headed for a split in game two as Trenton right-hander Alan Horne held the Baysox to one run through the first five innings of play. The Thunder got to Baysox starter Bobby Livingston for three runs over his six innings of work. Reegie Corona brought home the first run on an RBI double to right in the third. They tallied two more in the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Seth Fortenberry and an RBI double by Jose Gil.

Everything changed for Horne and the Thunder in the sixth, as second baseman Paco Figueroa led the inning off with a free pass. First baseman Brandon Snyder stepped to the plate and deposited a 2-2 offering from Horne deep over the wall in right center field. The blast was Snyder's third of the season, and tied the game at three apiece. The Baysox were not done, as reliever Amaury Sanit came on in place of Horne and walked right fielder Ambiorix Concepcion. Third baseman Miguel Abreu moved him over to second with a sacrifice, reaching first after Concepcion beat the throw to second. Catcher Guillermo Rodriguez moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt of his own, and manager Brad Komminsk went to his bench in the form of Jonathan Tucker. The Baysox utility man continued to come through when it counts, grounding out to second to bring the go ahead run across and giving the Baysox a 4-3 lead.

Lefty Chad Thall came on in the ninth, allowing a one out single to Eduardo Nunez to bring the go ahead run to the plate. Thall induced Reegie Corona to ground into a fielders choice for the second out of the inning, putting Corona on first for Trenton slugger Jorge Vazquez. Komminsk went to his bullpen, this time for right-hander Josh Perrault to face the right-hand hitting Vazquez. The move paid off, as Perrault got the powerful Vazquez to chase a breaking ball in the dirt to preserve the win and the Baysox doubleheader sweep.

The win puts the Baysox record at 11-12, good enough for fourth place in the Eastern League South and 8.0 games behind division leader Akron coming into play tonight. The Baysox will travel to Erie for a three game set with the SeaWolves beginning tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. RHP Sean Gleason (0-2, 10.38 ERA) makes his fourth start for the Baysox, going up against Erie RHP Brooks Brown (3-0, 0.73 ERA).

The Baysox 17th season as the class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway! Check out www.baysox.com to see all that's going on at the stadium this year, and don't miss a moment of the action as the Baysox attempt to bring home their first Eastern League championship. Individual game tickets and ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the Baysox box office at (301) 464-4865.

Check out the Chesapeake Baysox Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board...

Eastern League Stories from May 7, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Chesapeake Baysox Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central