Tornadoes Blanked; Face Must-Win Game On Sunday
September 5, 2008 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Worcester Tornadoes News Release
Worcester, MA -- A little home-cooking was not enough to break the Tornadoes bats out of their postseason slumber, as Worcester was shut out on just two hits by the Sussex Skyhawks, 4-0, at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field on Friday night.
Sussex would score all the runs they would need in the 2nd inning. Righty Junior Guerrero (0-1) issued a one-out walk to Chris Brown and Alex Frazier followed with a single to right-center. That brought up Yohanny Valera, who hurt his former team by ripping a Guerrero offering on a line over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run and a 3-0 Sussex lead. Guerrero settled down after that and was spectacular, going 7 strong innings and retiring 17 of the last 18 Sussex hitters he faced. But the Worcester offense provided him no support. A Francisco Caraballo double to rightfield in the 2nd inning and a Mike MacMillan single to left in the 3rd were the only hits the Tornadoes could muster, as four Sussex pitchers combined on the shutout. The Skyhawks added an insurance run in the 9th on a two-out bloop RBI single to right by Chris Brown off righty Anthony Sullivan to provide the final tally.
Sussex starter Gary Galvez (1-0) went 5 innings for the win and Guerrero (0-1) was the hard-luck loser. Matt Petrusek pitched the final 1.1 innings of the game for his 2nd save in as many nights. The shutout was the first suffered by the Tornadoes in franchise postseason history. Worcester went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the game and are now 2-for-16 in that situation through the first three games of the series. The Tornadoes will try to stave off elimination and force a deciding Game Five on Monday when they play Game Four of their best-of-five semifinals series against the Skyhawks at Hanover Insurance Park on Sunday evening. Righthander Kyle Jackson will make the start for Worcester and he will be opposed by Sussex righty Matt Salvato. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05pm.
Canadian American League Stories from September 5, 2008
- Can-Am League Playoff Recap - Can-Am
- Tornadoes Blanked; Face Must-Win Game On Sunday - Worcester Tornadoes
- Rapidz Name New Team Managers - Ottawa Voyageurs
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