Results tagged ‘ Chris Shelton ’
River Cats Take 1-0 Series Lead
Last night at Cheney Stadium, the Sacramento River Cats showed just why they are the two-time defending Pacific Coast League Champions. Unfazed by starting the postseason on the road, the River Cats took Game 1 of the Pacific Conference Championship Series, downing the Tacoma Rainiers 8-2.
Sacramento wasted no time in building a sizeable lead, rattling Rainiers lefty starter Chris Seddon for five runs in the first two innings.
With two outs in the top of the first and a man on third, River Cats designated hitter Tommy Everidge struck first, lining Seddon’s sixth offering of the at-bat right back up the middle for an RBI single. Next up was 22-year-old masher Chris Carter, who crushed Seddon’s 3-1 pitch over the right field wall for an opposite-field two-run blast. But PCL Pacific South champs weren’t done yet.
Second baseman Adrian Cardenas got things going in the top of the second with a one-out single up the middle, and then moved to third on a double by shortstop Gregorio Petit. Chris Denorfia then rolled a groundball to shortstop Oswaldo Navarro, who, after seeing Cardenas well on his way towards home, threw to first for the sure out, conceding the run. A Matt Carson RBI double to left plated Sacramento’s second run of the inning, putting the visiting club up 5-0.
After the first two innings, however, Seddon threw 4.1 innings of excellent baseball, allowing just one home run–a solo shot in the top of the fifth inning to slugger Brett Wallace–and no walks, striking out three. By going deep into the game, Seddon was able to preserve the Rainiers bullpen, as relievers Denny Stark, Nick Hill and Justin Thomas each threw one inning or less, enabling all three to go tonight if necessary.
The Rainiers offense began to show signs of life in the third inning against starter Chris Gissell, putting two on with one out thanks to singles by the middle infield duo of Navarro and second baseman Matt Tuiasosopo. A groundout by Tacoma’s Offensive MVP Bryan LaHair moved Navarro and Tui into scoring position for longball threat Chris Shelton. The third baseman out of Salt Lake City battled Gissell, but struck out swinging on the sixth pitch of the at-bat to end the threat.
Tacoma broke through for their first run in the bottom of the fourth, when with one out, catcher Adam Moore smoked the first pitch he saw from Gissell for a line-drive single to left field to cash in left fielder Prentice Redman, aboard with a leadoff single.
With Wallace’s fifth-inning solo roundtripper putting Sacramento up 6-1, the Rainiers clawed back yet again for another run in the bottom of the frame. Tui led off the inning with a line-drive double to center, and took third on a dying-quail single to left off the bat of LaHair. Shelton then lofted a sacrifice fly to left to narrow the lead to 6-2, but that was the closest that Tacoma would come. The River Cats added two more runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run, two-out single by Everidge to close out the scoring.
Division Title Still Up For Grabs
The race for the Pacific Coast League Pacific North title got just a bit more interesting this afternoon. Just one loss away from elimination at the hands of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox fought back to come away with a 5-2 win, ensuring that tomorrow’s tilt will decide which of the two combatants goes on to face the Sacramento River Cats in the PCL Pacific Conference championship.
While the Rainiers (73-70) capitalized on a Mark Bellhorn throwing error to capture the victory on Saturday, it was the Sky Sox who took advantage of an early miscue today on the part of Tacoma starter Brandon Morrow.
After scoring a run in the top of the first thanks to an RBI double by Matt Murton, Colorado Springs (73-68) came right back to threaten again in the top of the second. With Christian Colonel on second after a leadoff double, center fielder Chris Frey bunted a high-and-inside fastball from Morrow right back to the mound. Morrow alertly wheeled and threw to third, trying to cut down Colonel, but his throw sailed wide of third baseman Chris Shelton’s glove and up the left field line, allowing Colonel to come home to stake the Sky Sox to a 2-0 lead. Morrow then retired the next hitters in order, striking out two.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Rainiers began to climb back, with Matt Tuiasosopo slugging a solo home run to right field on a 1-1 offering from Sky Sox starter Esmil Rogers.
Rehabbing Mariners righty Carlos Silva came on in relief of Morrow in the top of the fifth, retiring the side on 12 pitches. However, in the top of the sixth, Colorado Springs struck again. With one out, Murton slugged his second double of the game to right on the second pitch he saw from Silva. Just two pitches later, first baseman Dan Ortmeier rapped a line drive single past a sprawling Tuiasosopo and into right field, giving the Sky Sox the lead for good.
Tacoma fought back in the bottom of the frame when a two-out RBI single by Shelton plated center fielder Jerry Owens. After Colorado Springs tallied two runs in the top of the seventh off of reliever Jared Wells, the Rainiers threatened again in the bottom of the inning. Big Brad Nelson showed off a little speed–and some keen base-running awareness–when his infield pop fly began twisting in the wind. Seeing a trio of Sky Sox infielders struggling to track the ball against the steel-gray sky, Nelly hustled around first and slid into second just as third baseman Colonel came up empty on a diving attempt behind the mound, giving Nelson the ever-rare 60-foot infield double.
After the powerful Mike Wilson went down swinging, veteran catcher Jamie Burke worked a six-pitch walk from Rogers. Another walk to shortstop Oswaldo Navarro prompted a pitching change by Sky Sox manager Stu Cole. Reliever Ryan Speier fell behind 2-0 to Owens before retiring Tacoma’s leading hitter on strikes.
Speier’s next challenger was Tuiasosopo, who entered the game with a scorching .429 average in the first two games of the series with four runs scored. On his fourth pitch, Speier was able to get Tuiasosopo to ground into a force out at second to snuff out the rally.
Tui, LaHair Team Up to Beat Sox
While it may be a tad early to put the champagne on ice, you can at least start to take it out of the refrigerator. Last night in front of a raucous Cheney Stadium crowd, the Tacoma Rainiers downed the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 6-4, elbowing aside the Colorado Rockies’ top affiliate to move into a tie for first place in the Pacific Coast League Pacific North division.
The Sky Sox (72-68) came out with a sense of urgency, no doubt sensing their hold on the division title rapidly slipping away to a Tacoma squad that is playing like a team possessed. After Colorado Springs scored two runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the first against starter Garrett Olson, the Rainiers (73-69) responded with two of their own in the bottom of the frame thanks to first baseman Bryan LaHair.
The Rainiers longball leader hadn’t gone yard in 18 games, but he sure picked the right night to get off the schnide. With one out, second baseman Matt Tuiasosopo dropped a bunt single up the third base line, setting the stage for LaHair, who crushed the second pitch he saw from starter Adam Eaton over the right field wall for his 26th circuit shot of the year to knot the score at 2-2.
Mike Wilson–who made two outstanding catches in right–led off the next inning with a line-drive single to left, and moved to third on a ground-ball single to right by catcher Adam Moore. With one out and leadoff man Jerry Owens at the dish, Eaton uncorked a wild pitch, allowing speedy Wilson to score the go-ahead run.
The lead wouldn’t last long, as the Sky Sox again pounced on Olson in the top of the third. First baseman Dan Ortmeier led off with a single on a soft grounder up the middle, and took third on a double by designated hitter Paul McAnulty. A sacrifice fly by third baseman Christian Colonel brought Colorado Springs even at 3-3, with a one-out RBI single by Mark Bellhorn putting the Sox back on top.
As fate would have it, the fifth inning would see LaHair and Tui team up yet again, with the Bellevue native working a one-out walk with the slugging first baseman on deck. This time, LaHair sent a booming double off the left center field wall to plate Tui to tie things up at 4-4.
As the saying goes, the third time’s a charm, and in the bottom of the seventh, LaHair and Tui netted themselves a hat trick. With one down, Tui once again reached base via a walk, but instead of LaHair’s bat proving to be the difference-maker, it was instead the arm of second baseman Bellhorn. LaHair grounded reliever Scott Munter’s second offering to the right side, and thanks to on-and-off showers, Bellhorn lost the handle on his throw to first, putting men at second and third for third baseman Chris Shelton, who responded with a sacrifice fly to center to give the Rainiers the lead for good. An RBI double by left fielder Prentice Redman–his 34th two-bagger of the season–provided some much-needed insurance.
After lefty reliever Justin Thomas turned in his second inning of scoreless relief, the side-arming major-league veteran Mike Koplove came in to work a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save, putting Tacoma just one win away from reaching the postseason.
Pesky Bees Make Division Race Interesting
Despite having been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with Wednesday night’s loss, the Salt Lake Bees still found a way to interject themselves into the race for the Pacific Coast League Pacific North crown tonight at Cheney Stadium. The Bees were able to overcome a clutch outing from Tacoma Rainiers righty Andy Baldwin, and shut down a thunderous Tacoma lineup to come away with a 4-0 win.
Fortunately for the Rainiers however, they got some assistance in their playoff quest from an unlikely source. The last-place Portland Beavers–Tacoma’s longtime regional rival–were able to down the front-running Colorado Springs Sky Sox 6-5 at Security Service Field to keep the Rainiers (71-69) just two games back with four to play.
The evening started off well for Tacoma, as Baldwin followed a scoreless first inning from the rehabbing Carlos Silva with six innings of shutout ball, at one point retiring 12 straight batters.
The Bees (69-70) finally broke the spell in the top of the seventh as Terry Evans came through with Salt Lake’s first hit off of Baldwin, dropping down a bunt single up the third base line to lead off the frame. Evans came in to score when the very next batter, first baseman Matt Brown, cracked his 26th double of the season to center field.
Second baseman Nate Sutton then tapped the first pitch he saw back to the mound, and Baldwin alertly threw over to third to cut down Brown for the first out of the inning. After a double by veteran left fielder Adam Pavkovich put men on second and third, a five-pitch walk to Ryan Budde loaded the bases. Despite the pressure, Baldwin came up big yet again, catching shortstop Gary Patchet looking at strike three.
With the left-handed Brad Coon coming to the plate, Rainiers manager Daren Brown turned to southpaw Justin Thomas, who had not allowed a run in his last five relief appearances, over which he held opposing hitters to a .143 average.
Thomas got ahead 1-2 on Coon, but on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, the Bees center fielder lofted a soft line drive into shallow left to score Sutton and Pavkovich. Switch-hitting third baseman Freddy Sandoval followed Coon with an RBI single of his own on a groundball through the left side to finish off the scoring for Salt Lake.
Bees pitchers appeared to have learned their lesson from Wednesday night’s 11-2 shellacking, pitching around the heart of a Tacoma lineup that leads all of Minor League Baseball in home runs. Salt Lake hurlers issued a combined four walks to 2-3-4 hitters Matt Tuiasosopo, Chris Shelton and Bryan LaHair, who have hit a combined 49 dingers this season.
The bottom of the Tacoma lineup–catcher Adam Moore and shortstop Oswaldo Navarro–accounted for four of the team’s six hits, with both men notching 2-for-4 nights. Navarro extended his hitting streak to 13 games, over which he has hit .447 (21-for-47).
Bees Swarm Esquibel, Rainiers
While
the Tacoma Rainiers lost just two players to the Mariners via September
call-up, they did lose last tonight’s scheduled starter, Jason Vargas. In his
place, Andres Esquibel–who spent several days with the Rainiers earlier in the
season–was called up from Single-A Everett to make his first Triple-A start. And
the Salt Lake Bees came out stinging.
Salt
Lake (68-69) dinged Esquibel for a run in the second and three more in the
third, thanks to two home runs, a walk, a single and two stolen bases. The Bees
tacked on another run in the top of the fifth inning when Brad Coon led off
with a single and moved into scoring position with his 22nd steal of the year.
A
groundout by third baseman Freddy Sandoval advanced Coon over to third, after
which manager Daren Brown pulled Esquibel in favor of righty Denny Stark.
The
first batter Stark faced, left fielder Chris Pettit, grounded the first pitch
to third baseman Chris Shelton, who alertly threw home to cut off the run.
Catcher Adam Moore tried to catch Pettit going for second, but shortstop
Oswaldo Navarro was unable to handle the throw, putting yet another man in
scoring position for right fielder Terry Evans, who promptly lined a single to
left to put Salt Lake up 5-0.
Meanwhile,
Bees starter Brad Salmon effectively stifled the potent Tacoma offense,
carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning, only to see both the no-no and the
shutout broken up by the hot-hitting Navarro.
With
one out and two on thanks to two straight walks by Salmon to start off the
bottom of the fifth, Navarro extended his hitting streak to 11 games by
crushing a 2-0 curve into the left field corner for a double to plate first
baseman Bryan LaHair.
A walk
to speedy center fielder Jerry Owens again put two men on for the heart of the
Rainiers order, but Salmon was able to strike out second baseman Matt
Tuiasosopo and the slugging Shelton to wiggle off the hook, two of his nine Ks
on the night.
The
Rainiers (70-68) kept the game within reach thanks to 3.2 scoreless innings of
relief from Stark and Jared Wells, but the Bees put the game out of reach by rattling
off a five-run top of the ninth against major-league veteran Mike Koplove.
Bees Halt Tacoma Streak at Nine
After winning nine straight games on the
road and pulling into a tie for first place with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox,
the Tacoma Rainiers fell victim last night to the third player in the Pacific
Coast League Pacific North sweepstakes, losing to the pesky Salt Lake Bees 5-3
to fall one game back in the chase for the division title.
Early on, it appeared that the Rainiers
(70-67) would be able to keep pace with the Sox–who beat up on Portland to the
tune of 11-4–as suddenly-scorching shortstop Oswaldo Navarro staked starter
Garrett Olson to a 2-0 lead through four innings.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan infielder was
a one-man wrecking crew for the Rainiers last night, going 3-for-3 with three
RBI–including run-scoring singles in the second and fourth innings. But in the
top of the fifth, even the Wizard of Os couldn’t hold back the Bees.
Olson allowed a leadoff single to Chris
Pettit and two straight one-out walks to load the bases for left fielder Reggie
Willits, owner of a .378 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Willits proceeded to crush a line-drive, bases-clearing double to center on
Olson’s fifth offering, putting Salt Lake (67-69) ahead for good.
But the Rainiers refused to go quietly.
In the bottom of the seventh, Navarro worked a leadoff walk. Center fielder
Jerry Owens then showed some excellent bat control, pin-pointing a groundball
single through the right side as second baseman Sean Rodriguez vacated his post
to cover second with Navarro running on contact.
With two runners in scoring position
thanks to Owens’s 22nd stolen base of the year, reliever Jeremy Hill issued a
six-pitch, two-out walk to the dangerous Chris Shelton to load the bases for
slugger Brad Nelson. After taking a 92-mph fastball on the corner for a called
strike, Nelson brought the fans to their feet with a long fly ball to left, but
the drive proved harmless as it plopped right into Willits’s waiting mitt to
end the threat.
Nelson came up again with one out and two
men on in the bottom of the ninth, but was out-matched by Bees closer Robert
Mosebach, who was able to strike out the heavy-hitting lefty and fellow masher
Mike Wilson for his seventh save of the season.
Notes: Over his 10-game hitting streak,
shortstop Oswaldo Navarro has gone 17-for-37 (.459) with two doubles, seven
runs and seven RBI … The streak is Navarro’s longest since a nine-game streak
with the Rainiers from May 4-12 in 2008 … Over the course of that streak,
Navarro has raised his batting average an astonishing 93 points … With his
1-for-4 night, Matt Tuiasosopo has now reached base safely in 13 straight games
and has recorded a hit in his last five contests.
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