Late Inning Rally Not Enough

The Lancaster Barnstormers got out to an early lead and never let it go. After the Blue Crabs defense was able to keep the game close until the 7th, the 8th was a whole different story. In an outing that saw Blue Crabs batters fan a record 12 times against one pitcher, we used 7 pitchers of our own.

Knuckleballer Joe Gannon started the game, going 7 innings for the loss. He allowed 3 runs all earned on 5 hits, while walking 4 and striking out 4. He allowed one home run, a two run homer in the 7th after walking the lead of batter of the inning. Our bullpen however collapsed in the 8th allowing 7 runs between the 4 pitchers that saw action. Edward Rodriguez allowed two runs on a hit and a walk before being replaced by lefty Matt Schweitzer who allowed a hit and a run. Jimmy Serrano would get the first out of the inning, but walked 2 batters and allowed two runs to score. Before he finished the 8th Byron Batson allowed 3 hits and two runs. Vinnie DeChristofaro started the 9th but hit a batter before coming out. Finally Mike James closed out the game going the entire 3 outs of the ninth. Mike allowed no hits and walked no one, giving probably the best performance out of the pen tonight.

Offensively we were quite, not getting on the board until the 7th. James Shanks led off the inning with a triple and would come in to score on a RBI single hit by Richard Giannotti. After the troublesome 8th by the bull pen the Blue Crabs would rally though it would no be enough. Mike Just, all-star game MVP, was walked with one out, and moved to second on a single by Travis Garcia. Mike would score on an RBI single hit by James Shanks. James would move to second on a single by Captain Jeremy Owens. The three base runners, Travis, James, and Jeremy would all score on a 3 RBI double by the catcher Lance Burkhart. Back in action tonight was Jermy Acey who pinch-hit for the slumping Chuck Jeroloman.

In Other Blue Crabs News: We remain in first place despite the loss. We are 3.0 games ahead of Long Island, 9.0 games ahead of Camden, and 10.0 games ahead of Bridgeport. Also we need a first baseman, while the efforts of both Octavio Martinez and Patrick Osborn are appreciated, a solid first baseman would make this playoff push that much easier. It not only would help us for the obvious reason of having a good first baseman but also would give us the chance to allow Patrick Osborn to get back to his old self. Tomorrow we face Lancaster again in game two of the four game series.