Sep 06 2007 10:26 AM
Cancel's two-out single in ninth propels Zephyrs
Thursday, September 06, 2007By Bob Fortus
[url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_nasaaa_nozaaa_1]Box[/url].
It was playoff baseball -- tight pitching, few scoring chances and tension in both halves of the ninth inning.
After shutting down a Nashville threat in the top of the ninth, the Zephyrs scored in the bottom half on Robinson Cancel's two-out RBI-single to win Game 1 of the PCL American Conference Championship Series 3-2 Wednesday night at Zephyr Field.
Cancel, who became the Zephyrs' starting catcher when Mike DiFelice and Sandy Alomar Jr. were called up to the Mets, drove home David Newhan from third. Newhan walked with out, stole second with two out and reached third on a wild pitch by reliever Kenny Ray, the losing pitcher.
In the top of the ninth, the Sounds loaded the bases with one out. But Zephyrs reliever Ivan Maldonado retired J.R. Hopf on a pop-up and struck out pinch-hitter Ozzie Chavez to work out of the jam.
With two of the top pitching staff in the league at work, runs were hard to come by.
The Zephyrs struck quickly, scoring two runs in the first against Nashville starter R.A. Dickey, the PCL pitcher of the year. Anderson Hernandez led with a walk. Running on a 3-2 pitch, he went to third when Fernando Tatis bounced a single to right. Carlos Gomez then hit a pop fly to short left. The ball, which appeared catch-able, fell behind shortstop Chris Barnwell, who picked it up in time to force Tatis at second as Hernandez scored. Gomez then stole second. One out later, Chip Ambres bounced an infield single behind third base as Gomez advanced to third. David Newhan drove him home with a single to right.
The Sounds made the score 2-1 in the second. With two out, Barnwell walked with two out, and Zephyrs starter Dave Williams hit Hopf with a pitch. Dickey then lined an RBI-single to right center.
The Sounds played small ball in the eighth, putting down two bunts to tie the score against reliever Jon Adkins. Hopf led off with a single, and pinch hitter Charles Thomas singled. Callix Crabbe sacrificed, putting runners on second and third. With both runners breaking on a suicide squeeze, Jose Macias bunted to the first-base side of the mound. Adkins had no play at the plate and threw out Macias at first as the run scored.
A strong throw by Nashville right fielder Laynce Nix helped derail a Zephyrs threat in the third. After Tatis led off with a single, Gomez followed with a single to right. Nix threw out Tatis trying to advance to third.
Joe Smith replaced Williams with a runner on first and one out in the seventh and quickly ended the inning by getting Barnwell to bounce into a double play.
Both starters were sharp. Williams allowed three hits and one run in 6 1-3 innings. Dickey, the PCL pitcher of the year, allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings.
NOTES: The series resumes at 1 p.m. today with a match-up of left-handers -- the Zephyrs' Jason Vargas (9-7, 4.97 earned run average) and the Sounds' Adam Pettyjohn (12-4, 3.78). The series moves to Nashville, Tenn., on Friday. Zephyrs RH Brian Lawrence (8-5, 4.73) will pitch against Sounds RH Mark DeFelice (4-2, 3.10). Game 4 (if necessary) on Saturday would match Zephyrs RH Kevin Mulvey (1-0, 0.00) against Sounds LH Zach Jackson (11-10, 4.46). LH Adam Bostick (6-7, 5.56) is the probable Game 5 starter for the Zephyrs; the Sounds haven't named their Game 5 starter. . . . Nashville's Tony Gwynn Jr. was ejected by plate umpire Casey Moser after arguing about a called third strike in the sixth. Macias entered the game in place of Gwynn. . . . Gomez, who hit .286 and stole 17 bases in 36 games with the Zephyrs at the start of the season before being called up by the Mets, re-joined the Zephyrs on Wednesday on a rehab assignment and started in center field. He hit .250 and stole nine bases in 42 games with the Mets before breaking the hamate bone in his left hand July 4. He played five rehab five games at Class A St. Lucie before coming to New Orleans. . . . Outfielder Miguel Negron was added to the Zephyrs' roster to replace Luis Matos, who is out for the postseason with an injured shin. . . . The Sounds' primary catchers this season -- Vinny Rottino and Mike Rivera -- were recent call-ups by the Brewers, so Nashville began the series with J.R. Hopf behind the plate and Brian Munhall in reserve. Hopf split the season between Nashville and Class A Brevard County. Milwaukee purchased Munhall's contract on Tuesday. He had been playing in the independent Northern League. . . . Recent call-ups by the Mets from the Zephyrs were starters Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber and reliever Willie Collazo, who made his big-league debut Wednesday. Reinforcements included Lawrence, whom the Mets sent back to New Orleans; Mulvey, who after being promoted from Double-A Binghamton pitched six scoreless innings for the division-clinching victory in his first Triple-A start; and reliever Carlos Muniz, who pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings in his first three appearances after his promotion from Binghamton. . . . The winner of this series will play the winner of the Sacramento-Salt Lake series in a five-game series for the PCL championship. If New Orleans advances to that series, it would begin with games Tuesday and Wednesday at Zephyr Field.