=== Daily Dugout Chatter - Thursday, August 26th === (Games from Wednesday, August 25th)
From The My Sportsbook
THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN'
Joe Hietpas bases loaded walk scored Josh Pressly with the winning run to give the Binghamton Mets a 6-5 win over the Norwich Navigators in an Eastern League contest. Joe Bateman pitched the disastrous ninth for the Navigators. He started the frame by walking Pressley and Brett Harper to put two men on with no one out. Aarom Baldiris then moved both runners with a sacrifice bunt. After an intentional walk to Chase Lambin, Bateman allowed the game clinching run to cross home plate with his walk to Hietpas. Harper led the Binghamton offense as he drilled his sixth home run of the year and knocked in two RBI. Royce Ring (2-1) earned the win for the Mets in two innings of relief. Ring yielded one earned run on three hits and a walk. PJ Bevis notched his 12th save of the year in the victory. Bateman was dealt (0-2) the loss after he walked in the winning run for the Mets. Norwich's Julian Benavidez homered and drove in three runs to lead the Navigators.
MAJOR HOWARD
Ryan Howard continued on his path to the majors as he singled home the winning run in the 13th inning to lead the Scranton/W-B Red Barons to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Lynx Wednesday night. Howard finished the game 2-for-6 with one RBI to pace the Red Barons offense. Dan Giese (12-5) picked up the win in relief as he tossed two scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Jerry Spradlin (2-3) allowed one earned run in one inning of work to take the loss for Ottawa. Spradlin gave up two hits and walked two in the outing. Mark Budzinski chipped in three hits and one RBI in the win for Scranton. He went 3-for-5 on the day. Eddy Garabito led the Lynx's offense as he went 2-for-6 with a double, one RBI, and one run scored.
GOSS WINS IT
Michael Goss collected two hits and drove in the eventual game-winning run and Matt Chico tossed 7 1/3rd solid innings as the El Paso Diablos edged the Arkansas Travelers, 2-1, on Wednesday night. El Paso took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Matt Morgan scored on an error by Victor Gutierrez. Gutierrez made up for his error when he doubled home the tying run in the fifth. The score remained tied at a run apiece until the top of the seventh. Goss stroked a two-out single to center field with two runners on and Adam Haley scored the game-winning run. Chico (3-5) scattered five hits over his 7 1/3rd innings and picked up the win. He held the Travs to a run while striking out six and walking one. Jason Bulger earned his seventh save. Willie Collazao (4-10) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings and suffered the loss. He fanned seven and walked three.
32 AND COUNTING FOR TRACY
Andy Tracy hit two home runs and Garrett Atkins knocked in three runs as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes, 10-8, in the Pacific Coast League Wednesday night. Colorado Springs upped its record to 69-62 while Albuquerque fell to 63-69. Tracy hit home runs 31 and 32 and finished the night 2-for-5 with three RBI while Atkins went 2-for-5 and scored two runs. Shawn Garrett broke a 8-8 tie in the top of the ninth with his third home run of the season for the Sox. Allan Simpson picked up the win out of the bullpen and improved his record to 2-1. Simpson struck out three in 1 1/3rd perfect innings. Albuquerque's Toby Borland took the loss and fell to 4-2. Borland pitched the ninth inning and gave up two runs on three hits. Matthew Padgett (21, 22) also hit two home runs and plated three for the Isotopes.
MITCH TIES THE RECORD
Mitch Einertson tied the Appalachian League record with his 24th home run of the season and Wallace Torbert knocked in three runs as the Greeneville Astros defeated the Bluefield Orioles 13-10 Wednesday. Einertson went 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored while Torbert finished 2-for-5 and scored once. Levi Romero (8-0) remained undefeated on the year after tossing six innings and giving up four earned runs. Romero allowed eight hits, walked two, and struck out six in the win. Jason Furrow (1-2) was tagged for seven runs, five earned, in only four innings on the hill to take the loss for Bluefield. Waladimir Sutil doubled and drove in two runs and Ole Sheldon knocked in two runs of his own in the win. Juan Gutierrez and Brad Wiggins drove in two runs apiece for the Orioles. Einertson will go for the record Thursday night in game two of this three-game set.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW
Miguel Matos homered twice and drove in four runs and Ricardo Sosa homered and knocked in three more as the Missoula Osprey thrashed the Casper Rockies 24-5 in Pioneer League action Wednesday. Matos went 3-for-4 and scored three times while Sosa finished 4-for-5 and scored four runs. Vince Davis (3-4) picked up the win for Missoula. He allowed four earned runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Stephen Edsall (1-2) was rocked for eight earned runs in just three innings on the mound to take the loss for Casper. Edsall gave up eight hits, walked three, and struck out two. Ramon Downing and Javier Brito knocked in three runs apiece for Missoula. Brito smacked his eighth homer of the year. Jason Van Kooten went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, two RBI, and two runs scored for the Rockies.
ROCK CATS AND ROLL
Luis Maza's two-run double in the eighth inning lifted the New Britain Rock Cats past the Trenton Thunder, 3-1 in come from behind fashion. Aaron Rifkin's solo home run in the fourth gave Trenton an early 1-0 advantage and it seemed like the Thunder would cruise to the win. Starting pitcher Sean Henn was dominant over seven innings as he didn't allow a run and scattered two hits. He walked two and struck out four but did not factor in the decision. The Rock Cats took advantage of reliever Alex Heredia (0-1) as they touched him for three earned runs in the eighth. Seth Davidson started the inning with an RBI single to score Jake Mauer. Maza followed with his double to secure the win for New Britain. Travis Bowyer earned the win for New Britain. He was solid in 4 1/3rd innings of shutout relief. Bowyer yielded just two hits, walked a pair, and struck out four to improve to 5-3. Bobby Korecky recorded his 26th save of the year in the win.
CAN ANYONE STOP RIGGS?
Adam Riggs homered and scored three runs while Gary Johnson plated two as the Salt Lake Stingers defeated the Edmonton Trappers, 9-4, in Pacific Coast League action Wednesday night. Salt Lake upped its record to 51-80 while Edmonton fell to 63-68. Riggs (29) finished the night 3-for-5 and homered in his fifth straight game. Johnson chipped in with his fifth home run and went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Dallas McPherson plated two for the Stingers. Scott Dunn picked up the win and improved his record to 9-4. Dunn held the Trappers to two runs on four hits and struck out four in five innings. Edmonton's Wilton Chavez took the loss and fell to 5-12. Chavez gave up seven runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks. Matt Cepicky knocked in two runs and Maicer Izturis scored two more for the Trappers. Adam Riggs hit his 12th home run in his last 15 games.
