Rainout could affect Wild Things playoff path
The Wild Things will not play a full 96-game schedule. That was assured Thursday night when their series finale against the Normal CornBelters at Consol Energy Park was rained out. The game will not be rescheduled, meaning the Wild Things will play no more than 95 games in this Frontier League regular season.
The game was called off at about 5:30 p.m.
Whether playing fewer games than other teams in the league helps or hurts Washington won’t be known until the final week of the season, which concludes Sept. 4. Washington is in second place in the East Division, 3 games behind the Joliet Slammers. The Wild Things hold the final wild-card playoff spot but only five games separate 10 teams in the jumbled wild-card race.
That makes Washington’s nine-game road trip, which begins tonight at Florence, so important. It’s the longest road trip of the season as Washington also will make stops in Evansville and in O’Fallon, Mo., to play the River City Rascals.
“We play better on the road,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said. “We’d like to play better at home.”
Washington is 14-12 on the road and 16-18 at home. The Wild Things also are 10-16 against the West Division, which includes Florence, Evansville and River City.
Washington will start pitcher Trevor Foss (8-3, 2.34) in the series opener at Florence. Foss leads the league in innings pitched (96 1/3) and complete games (8), is tied for first in wins and tied for second in ERA.
“We need more consistency with our offense and with our pitching,” Langbehn said. “Our bullpen has been … eh. In the second half of the season, it has not been where it needs to be.”
Washington is 3-8 since the all-star break.
“Through all of that, we’re still holding the final playoff spot,” Langbehn said. “My big concern is sustaining innings and pitching better. We’ve had multiple games recently when we had a lead in the seventh inning or later and didn’t hold it. The bullpen hasn’t been as effective as it was. Why? I don’t know. I know it isn’t from overuse.”
Because of the rainout, if a tiebreaker between Normal and Washington is needed to determine a wild-card playoff participant, then the CornBelters will get the nod based on winning the season series 3-2. … The Wild Things signed catcher Steve Sulcoski to bring their roster to the 24-player limit. Sulkoski is a three-year professional. All of his pro experience is in independent leagues. He played in six games for Ottawa of the Can-Am League this season. … Washington catcher Kyle Pollock is hitting .417 in the last five games. … The Wild Things are batting .315 against left-handed pitchers, which ranks second in the league, but only a league-low .213 against right-handers.