One bad inning puts damper on Wild Things’ home opener
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Gateway’s Blake Brown steals second base in front of Washington’s Brett Marr during Tuesday’s game at WIld Things Park.
Observer-Reporter
Players from the Washington Wild Things stand for the national anthem prior to a game.
It is absurd to make snap judgments and evaluations about teams or players this early in the season, after only four games.
After all, the Wild Things’ starting pitchers aren’t going to have a combined ERA of 14.89 all season. Right? And the Gateway Grizzlies’ pitching staff isn’t going to stay on pace for 96 wins. Right?
That is, however, where the teams are today and why Gateway is undefeated and the Wild Things’ bullpen has been overworked.
Gateway scored seven runs in the top of the first inning, Joel McKeithan hit a long home run and Will Anderson pitched six strong innings as the Grizzlies put a damper on the Wild Things’ home opener by defeating Washington, 8-5, Tuesday night.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Wild Things Mike Anthony came into the game in the first inning as relief for Daniel Garmendia
After Washington’s three starting pitchers failed to pitch into the fifth inning in the season-opening series at Evansville, Washington starter Daniel Garmendia (0-1) didn’t make it through the first inning and retired only one of the seven batters he faced. He did strike out two batters but one, Brennan Morgan, reached base safely on wild pitch when the third strike was in the turf, allowing a run to score.
Gateway’s seven-runs first inning drained the energy from the crowd that showed up for the home opener despite rain being in the forecast.
After the game, Washington manager Gregg Langbehn held a closed-door meeting with his starting pitchers and showed them the ugly numbers from their short stints.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Gateway’s Terry McClure scores on a wild pitch behind Washington catcher Kyle Pollock and pitcher Daniel Garmendia during Tuesday’s Frontier League home opener at Wild Things Park.
“I’ve never had a meeting after four games. Never,” Langbehn said. “We have to pitch better. If you’re going to be a starting pitcher, you have to give your team the ability to win and get into no less than the sixth inning. Those numbers we have are not good enough. With hose numbers, we should be 0-4 instead of 2-2.”
Gateway is 4-0 and its starting pitching has been a big reason why. The Grizzlies gave up only three runs in a series sweep of Schaumburg to open the season. Anderson (1-0) took an 8-1 lead into the sixth inning against Washington and did not issue a walk.
“Our starting pitching has been pretty good,” Gateway manager Phil Warren said. “Early on, you want to take it easy with the starters and watch their pitch counts, but our guys have been going six or seven innings.”
That has been long enough for Gateway’s offense to build big leads. After finishing in last place in the Frontier League’s West Division with a 32-64 last year, the Grizzlies have the look of a much-improved team.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Rain falls in the 5th inning at the Wild Things Opener
“We have a core of returning players who are good and produced for me last year, but the supporting cast wasn’t good enough,” Warren said. “The supporting cast is good enough this year. If they produce, then we should be a fun team to watch.”
The first inning was anything but fun for the Wild Things. It was more like a toothache that wouldn’t stop.
Garmendia, who was a relief pitcher in the Kansas City Royals’ farm system last year, gave up three hits, two walks and three stolen bases. An error on what would have been a caught stealing at third base didn’t help his cause. Blake Brown had a two-run single that gave Gateway a 2-0 lead only three batters into the game, Terry McClure added an RBI double and scored on the strikeout-wild pitch.
Mike Anthony, a former Lock Haven University pitcher who was signed earlier in the day after being released by Florence, replaced Garmendia with the score 4-0 and it was 7-0 when the first inning ended.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The new logo for All About the Warrior Field is revealed before the Home Opener of the Wild Things season
Washington, which overcame a 7-1 deficit to win Sunday at Evansville, made it close at the end, using a three-run homer by left fielder Roman Collins and a solo shot by first baseman Reydel Medina. Washington’s bullpen allowed only one run after the first inning.
Kyle Pollock’s two-out single drove in Hector Roa for Washington’s initial run in the second inning. Gateway got the run back in the third when McKeithan hit a solo homer over the scoreboard in left centerfield.
Washington made it 8-4 in the sixth when Collins homered off Anderson to right field. Medina made it 8-5 when he hit an opposite-field solo home in the seventh off the left-field foul pole.
Gateway relievers Dalton Shalberg and Patrick Boyle combined to retire the final eight Washington hitters. Boyle got the final four outs for his first save.
“I’ve been patient to a fault in years past with starting pitchers,” Langbehn said, “and I’m not going to do it again. Our bullpen has been good, but it’s been pitching too many innings.”
Notes
The Wild Things are 7-10 in home openers and have lost four in a row. …The announced attendance of 1,492 was the smallest for a home opener in the franchise’s 17-year history. The previous smallest was 2,123 in 2014. That game also was played on a Tuesday. … Gateway’s first-base coach is former Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ken Oberkfell.
… Washington did not have a runner left on base, a rarity for a team that scored five runs.