Wild Things take two from Lake Erie
Consol Energy Park never looked as good to the Wild Things as it did Tuesday night, even if there were some out-of-the-ordinary things happening.
After going 2-7 on a nine-game road trip that concluded Sunday, the Wild Things needed the comforts of home as much as they needed a couple of victories. They got everything they wanted over a few hours at the steamy ballpark.
Zac Grotz, the Wild Things’ closer, pitched six shutout innings of relief as Washington ended its losing skid by defeating the Lake Erie Crushers 1-0 in the completion of a game suspended May 22 because of rain.
Washington made it a sweep with a 4-3 win in the seven-inning nightcap. It was a game that included Lake Erie’s outfielders losing two routine fly balls in the twilight on consecutive at-bats, giving Washington a pair of doubles and a first-inning run.
Grotz (3-2), who has pitched more than two innings only twice in 28 outings, was an interesting choice to pitch the suspended game when play resumed in the third inning. He allowed only four hits and did not walk a batter. Grotz struck out seven. Brian Hinkle started the game, which had concluded the season-opening series.
Washington manager Gregg Langbehn confirmed that Grotz, who has 10 saves and lowered his ERA to 1.11, will be moving to the starting rotation for the Frontier League season’s stretch drive. It’s a decision Langbehn deemed necessary after ace starter Trevor Foss had his contract purchased last week by the Cleveland Indians.
“Zac is a good pitcher,” Langbehn said. “We lost Trevor and it’s time for someone to step up. We’ll figure it out with our beullpen. We’ll piece it together.”
The Wild Things got more than expected from Grotz against the Crushers. The bullpen wasn’t needed.
“The plan was for me to go as long as I could,” Grotz said. “I was shooting for four innings. I thought, if I could get through the seventh inning, then we could piece together the rest of the game with a couple of bullpen guys.
“I’ll do whatever we need done. I was told to pitch as long as I could and then be available for the weekend.”
Washington scored the game’s lone run in the eighth inning when Jimmy Yezzo trotted home from third base on a double by David Popkins. Yezzo reached base when he hit a fly ball that went for a triple. Crushers right fielder Robb Paller came in and toward the right-field line and made an unsuccessful attempt at a diving catch. The ball skipped past Pall and Yezzo ended up on third base.
Popkins followed with his second double of the game, into the left-field corner.
Yezzo hit a two-run homer, his 10th of the season, in Washington’s three-run third inning in the nightcap. Chase Cunningham (4-8) pitched into the sixth inning and relievers Andrew Woeck and Devon Davis finished. Davis got the final three outs for his fourth save.
Newly signed Alvaro Gonzalez drove in a run with a book-rule double in the third in his Wild Things debut.
Monongahela native Brendan Costantino had a run-scoring single for Lake Erie in the sixth inning.
“We need this,” Grotz said. “We’ve been on the road for 10 days and didn’t play well. We needed to get comfortable in familiar surroundings.”
The sweep moves Washington to within five games of first-place Joliet in the East Division and 3/12 games behinhd Normal, which currently holds the final wild-card playoff berth.
“It’s a good thing our division is tight,” Langbehn said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position, with 24 games remaining, where we have to find a way to win about 17 games because there are so many teams fighting for a playoff spot.”
During the off day Monday, the Wild Things released catcher Zach Fish (.077) and pitcher Sam Agnew-Wieland (2-3, 5.52). They Gonzalez and outfielder Justin Garcia. The 6-4, 220-pound Gonzalez played this spring at New Mexico Highlands, where Wild Things hitting coach Mike Marshall is an assistant coach. Garcia played parts of two seasons in the Houston Astros system after being drafted in the 15th round last year out of Nova Southeastern. … Foss pitched six shutout innings Tuesday for Class A Lake County in a 2-0 win over Dayton.