EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Triples Power Baysox Past Rock Cats

Published on July 30, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The Bowie Baysox jumped out to 10 games over .500 for the first time this season, as they defeated the New Britain Rock Cats 8-5 Friday night at Prince George's Stadium. A five-run fourth inning for the Baysox was the turning point of the game, as center fielder Jonathan Tucker hit a three-RBI triple.

Starting pitcher Steve Johnson pitched well enough to win, with four runs on eight hits through 5.0 innings, and was carried to victory by the Baysox bullpen, as Wynn Pelzer and Brandon Cooney recorded holds before Eastern League All-Star Pedro Beato notched his 11th save of the year. Johnson is on a roll, with wins in three consecutive starts for the first time since the end of the 2009 season.

"I was frustrated, I didn't have the curveball I had and that hurt me a little bit; I didn't have the command that I would've liked to have," Johnson said. "I basically did what I could to keep the team in the game. It feels good. I'm in a little groove. I'm throwing more strikes even though the walks are still piling up but they're good walks in good situations except for the last one. I'm happy with the way I'm throwing. I just need to fine tune some things and get a little better."

Pelzer made his Baltimore Orioles organizational debut a day after being traded by the San Diego Padres for former American League MVP Miguel Tejada. He pitched two innings with three strikeouts and a run on two hits, giving up a solo home run to Rock Cats leadoff man Joe Benson.

"It's nice to get out there on the first night, just get a couple around the fellas. I'm trying to do my part here," Pelzer said. "No jitters. It's a locker room like everywhere else; just personalities, get to know everybody. I was actually wanting to get out there tonight anyways just to get it out of the way."

"I feel like I've got a new lease on my career here," he said. "I'm just trying to take this opportunity and run with it. So every time I go out there, I'm going to be on a mission to perform and get as many outs as they ask me to."

"He was good," said Baysox Manager Brad Komminsk. "It was probably his first trade ever so that's a little traumatic to start with but he came out and threw the ball really well. He got ambushed on that fastball to their leadoff hitter but overall I thought he was good."

The Rock Cats scored the game's first run in the top of the second inning. Catcher Alexander Soto hit a one-out single to right-center field and scored on Yancarlos Ortiz's double to left field that fell behind a backpedaling Brandon Waring.

New Britain made the score 2-0 in the top of the third inning, after highly regarded Minnesota Twins prospect Ben Revere lined a single to center field. He moved to second base when right fielder Chris Parmelee drew a walk and scored on Juan Portes' single to left field.

After two scoreless half-innings, the Baysox embarked on a critical rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. Right fielder Tyler Henson led off with a single to shortstop, and moved to second when the throw from short sailed out of the field of play. Eastern League home runs leader Joel Guzman was drilled in the knee, immediately dropping to the dirt as the crowd of 4,618 watched nervously to see if the big slugger would get up on his own. After writhing in pain for a moment, he gingerly made his way to first base and remained in the game.

First baseman Joe Mahoney hit a chopper to third base, where Ortiz bobbled the ball, allowing Mahoney to reach first and load the bases with an error. Waring lined a single to left field to rotate the runners and bring Henson across the plate for the Baysox first run of the night.

Center fielder Jonathan Tucker blew the inning open with a triple to center field, taking advantage of the outfielders' shallow depth as Guzman, Mahoney and Waring all scored, giving the Baysox a lead that they held on to for the remainder of the game.

After catcher Adam Donachie grounded out for the first out of the inning, Tucker scored on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Carlos Rojas, sliding head-first under the catcher's attempted tag to give the Baysox a 5-2 lead.

"I felt good tonight. I had a lot of energy," Tucker said. "A bunch of guys had a lot of good at-bats, put pressure on the pitcher. I got a good pitch to hit, put a good swing on it and the rest was history."

The Rock Cats continued to fight against their 77th loss of the season, and put two more runs on the board in the top of the fifth inning, cutting the Baysox lead down to 5-4. Johnson walked shortstop Estarlin De Los Santos to start the inning before Revere recorded his third hit of the night, an infield single to shortstop that left De Los Santos at second base. Parmelee singled to left field, driving De Los Santos and Revere across the plate before settling at second base after Waring failed to field the ball cleanly.

Adams created some breathing room for his team when he led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to left field that pushed the Bowie lead to 6-4. The long ball was Adams' tenth of the season, placing him in the company of Guzman, Waring, Henson and catcher Caleb Joseph with double-digit home run totals.

Pelzer took the mound to start the sixth inning and recorded two strikeouts before Benson smacked the first pitch he saw over the wall in center field, cutting the Baysox lead to 6-5. Pelzer struck out De Los Santos to complete the inning.

Donachie drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth inning and scored when Rojas hit a triple to right field, his second of the season. Shortstop Greg Miclat hit a ground ball to shortstop, and would have been out on a routine throw to first base, but he reached safely on a fielding error by De Los Santos, allowing Rojas to score and push the Baysox lead to 8-5.

Beato entered in the top of the ninth inning to close out his 24th game of the year and gave up a hit as he notched two strikeouts, sending Portes down swinging for the final out.

The win pushes the Baysox to 58-48 on the year as they continue to close in on the Western Division lead, just 2.5 games behind Altoona for the top spot. The Akron Aeros remain close in the playoff chase, still just one game behind the Baysox in third place.

The Baysox play two more games against the Rock Cats, beginning Saturday at 6:35 p.m. with spectacular fireworks show after the game. The Baysox will attempt to break several world records Saturday, including most people sitting on whoopee cushions at the same time. Sunday's game features the finale of the Baysox Kids' Summer Concert Series, with a pre-game performance by Rocknoceros and a special appearance by PBS's Super Why and Alpha Pig. Fans can purchase a $10 ticket for the Rocknoceros concert that includes a general admission seat for the game.

Check out the Chesapeake Baysox Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Eastern League Stories from July 30, 2010


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.

OurSports Central