EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Wynn-Win Situation for Baysox

Published on August 26, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The Bowie Baysox took advantage of a late collapse in the New Britain Rock Cats' pitching and defense to come from behind to win 8-6 Thursday. Right-handed reliever Wynn Pelzer earned his first win as a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization, after being traded from the San Diego Padres for former American League MVP Miguel Tejada in late July. Pelzer also took a blown save in the game, with two runs on one hit and two walks in 1.1 innings.

Starting pitcher Steve Johnson provided decent work from the mound, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks through 5.2 innings as he struck out five batters.

The Rock Cats started quickly, with three consecutive hits off Johnson to begin the bottom of the first inning. Joe Benson led off with a single to left field, and shortstop Estarlin De Los Santos put runners on the corners with a single grounded up the middle of the diamond. New Britain first baseman Chris Parmlee plated Benson with a single to center field that moved De Los Santos to second base. Evan Bigley grounded in a double play and was retired along with Parmlee as De Los Santos took third, where he went on to score on second baseman Steve Singleton's single to right field.

Johnson settled in and retired seven batters in a row, as the Baysox got to work in the top of the third inning. Right fielder Jonathan Tucker drew a leadoff walk, but was caught stealing second base before center fielder Xavier Avery hit a single to center field. Avery has already established a reputation in the Eastern League for his speed, with nine stolen bases in his first 15 games in Bowie, and drew a pickoff attempt that sailed wide of Parlmee at first, allowing Avery to take second base with second baseman Ryan Adams batting. With Adams still at the dish, Avery advanced to third on a passed ball before Adams hit a single to right field that plated Avery to put the Baysox on the scoreboard.

Left fielder Tyler Henson drew a walk that put two aboard for designated hitter Joel Guzman, who was named to the Eastern League's end-of-season All-Star team earlier in the day along with Adams. Guzman kept up his hot pursuit of the Baysox single-season record with his 30th home run of the season, putting the Baysox in front 4-2. With 11 games remaining, Guzman is four home runs away from breaking Walter Young's club record, set in 2004.

Henson hit a two-out single to center field in the top of the fifth inning, and went all the way around to score on Guzman's single to right field, which he tried to stretch into a double but was tagged out at second base.

The Rock Cats started to roll in the bottom of the sixth inning, which Singleton led off with a walk. He was forced out at second place on Juan Portes' grounder, but the Rock Cats soon had runners on first and second when Johnson walked Mark Dolenc. Johnson struck out Jeff Howell for his 117th punchout of the season before third baseman Yancarlos Ortiz singled to right field, bringing Portes across the plate as Dolenc settled in at third.

That knock was the last pitch Johnson would make, and he was replaced by right-hander Wynn Pelzer. Pelzer threw a wild pitch to his first batter that allowed Dolenc to score New Britain's second run of the inning, leaving them behind just 5-4.

The Rock Cats kept up their momentum in the bottom of the seventh inning, as De Los Santos drew a leadoff walk before a Parmlee triple to right field plated him. A strikeout and an intentional walk later, Parmlee scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Portes, giving Akron a 6-5 lead.

New Britain self-destructed in the top of the eighth inning, allowing the Baysox to score three runs on zero hits to take the lead. Henson and Guzman walked in succession to start the inning before Joe Mahoney hit a routine ground ball to first base that slipped past Parmlee for an error that allowed Henson to score as Guzman took third base.

The Rock Cats brought on their Dutch giant to contain the damage, 7-foot 1-inch reliever Loek Van Mil. He retired third baseman Brandon Waring and shortstop Greg Miclat on fly outs before his defense failed him when Tucker hit a ground ball at Ortiz at third base, which he threw away trying to get the final out, allowing Guzman and Mahoney to score on the blunder. When the dust settled, Bowie held an 8-6 lead.

Right-handed reliever Jose Diaz pitched the final two innings to record his first save of the year since coming up to Double-A, pitching a perfect inning in the eighth and walking Parmlee with one out before retiring Evan Bigley and Singleton to end the game.

The win pushes the Baysox to 69-62 on the season, though they remain 1.5 games behind Harrisburg for third place and the final playoff spot in the Eastern League's Western Division.

The Baysox play three more games in New Britain, starting Friday at 7:05 p.m., then return to Bowie for their final home stand of the regular season, with four games against the division-leading Altoona Curve beginning Monday, Aug. 30, at 7:05 p.m. The Baysox final regular-season home game is Thursday, Sept. 2, and features the Festa d'Italia Beer Dinner, with an Italian-themed buffet-style meal in the Diamond View Restaurant with a generous selection of beers. Tickets for the dinner are $41 per person, or $37 for season ticket holders, and can be purchased by contacting Dana DeFilippo at (301) 464-4871 or ddefilippo@baysox.com. Tickets must be ordered by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Absolutely no tickets will be sold after the deadline.

Think Outside The Box with the Baysox in 2010. The Baysox 18th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is almost over. Catch all the action in Natural Definition! Baysox full-season and partial-season ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the group sales department at (301) 464-4880.

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Eastern League Stories from August 26, 2010


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