Count against Wilkins, Wild Things in loss
Traverse City’s Gaby Juarbe is tagged out at home plate by Wild Things catcher Steve Sulcoski during the top of the second inning Tuesday at Consol Energy Park.
Washington third baseman Ricky Rodriguez reacts after failing to catch a single Tuesday.
Washington’s Kolin Stanley is removed during the top of the sixth inning. He was replaced by Devon Davis. Stanley entered the game in the sixth after five strong innings from starter Luke Wilkins, who struck out 10 but ran up his pitch count in the process.
Wild Things manager Gregg Langbehn congratulates Chris Grayson after Grayson hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday.
The Wild Things and Traverse City Beach Bums played far, far into the night Tuesday; so far, in fact, that they played right into Wednesday.
And when the final out of the Frontier League doubleheader was recorded – at 12:07 a.m. – neither team could be satisfied with the way it played or the results.
After being dealt an frustrating 6-5 loss in 10 innings in the opener, Washington bounced back and won a messy 9-7 nightcap that included nine errors.
The good news for the Wild Things is they are basically in the same position in the playoff race as when the doubleheader began.
Washington is still a half-game behind River City in the wild card standings. The Rascals were off Tuesday. The Wild Things lost a half-game to Joliet in the East Division, falling three games behind the first-place Slammers.
“We won one game. We’ll leave it at that,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
It could not have been sloppier. Over the two games, there were 10 errors, 43 strikeouts and 41 runners left on base. There were 617 pitches thrown and a balk that allowed the tying run to score in the ninth inning of the opener. Both teams batted around in the third inning of the second game.
The Wild Things mascot even caught a popped up foul ball in his armpit as he sat in the first-base box seats late in the first game.
At one point, Traverse City manager Dan Rohn said to Langbehn that “we’ve seen everything except a plane crashing onto the field.”
The opener, however, was a train wreck for Washington. The Wild Things squandered a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning of the seven-inning game. They also left the potential winning run at third base in the ninth.
The game went to the International Tiebreaker, in which each half inning after the eighth began with a runner on second base. It also included a tying solo home run by Washington’s Chris Grayson in the sixth inning and 15 runners left on base by Traverse City.
The Beach Bums scored the game-winning run when Jeff DeBlieux started the 10th on second base and scored when Marcos Derkes led off with a single against Brian O’Keefe (2-2), the fifth Washington pitcher.
“We used just about everybody we had in the bullpen in the first game,” Langbehn said, “we just didn’t do enough to win.”
Luke Wilkins, the Wild Things’ crafty Australian-born pitcher, had a career-high 10 strikeouts but lasted only five innings because his pitch count soared to 109.
“No doubt, it probably was a good game to watch,” said Wilkins, who exited with Washington leading 3-2 after a two-run double by Grant Fink in the bottom of the fifth.
Wilkins issued only one walk.
“I got myself into some jams early that I was unlucky to get into,” Wilkins said. “I know I’ve never before thrown 110 pitches in five innings.
“I had to use three pitches. I threw so many offspeed pitches that I lost the feel for my fastball in the middle of the game. I wasn’t getting early outs.”
Wilkins was replaced in the sixth by Kolin Stanley, whose first pitch plunked Gaby Juarbe. DeBlieux followed with an RBI-triple and gave Traverse City a 4-3 lead by scoring on a Derkes single.
Grayson hit a long solo homer to the parking lot beyond right centerfield in the bottom of the sixth off Beach Bums reliever Andrew Brockett. The hit led to extra innings.
Both teams scored in the ninth after starting with a runner on second base. Juarbe’s sacrifice fly scored Steve Patterson and gave Traverse City a 5-4 lead. The Wild Things tied it in unusual fashion. With runners on first and third with no outs and a 3-2 count on Grayson, Beach Bums reliever Jim Ball (3-3) was called for a balk, allowing Austin Wobrock to trot home and make the score 5-5.
Washington, however, squandered the chance to win as Ricky Rodriguez, who opened the scoring with a home run in the first inning, grounded into a double play and Andrew Heck was stranded at third base when DeBlieux made a sliding catch of David Popkins’ fly ball in right field.
“There were a lot of big hits by both teams, big plays and momentum swings,” Wilkins said. “The disappointing thing is I’m expected to throw a complete game in a seven-inning game. But we had a lot of line drives right at people and they hit 44-bouncers that found holes.”
In the nightcap, Washington erased a 5-3 deficit by sending 11 batters to the plate in the third inning and scoring six times. Fink gave Washington a 6-5 lead with a two-run single and Rodriguez capped the big inning with his own two-run single.
Kyle Pollock hit a solo homer and had two RBI.
Ashton Perritt (1-1) got only one out but was credited with the win. Stanley pitched in both games and got the final four outs for his third save.
The second game was a comedy of errors. The teams combined for seven errors and a passed ball in the first 2½ innings. Washington starting pitcher Matt Snyder lasted only 2 2/3 innings and gave up five runs (all unearned). The Wild Things committed four errors while he was on the mound.
“That was not the Tom Emanski School of Baseball video out there,” Langbehn said. “But our hitters didn’t give up. It was an ugly baseball game. I’m just glad this one is over. At least we won a game.”
Prior to the game, Washington activated catcher John Fidanza from the disabled list. He started the second game and went 2-for-3 for his first hits since June of last season. Fidanza had been sidelined all season.