Jul 30, 2021 5 min read

The Wild Things have the New Jersey Jackals’ number.

Washington completed a series sweep Thursday night, defeating New Jersey 4-3 in a rain-plagued game at Wild Things Park.

It was the ninth consecutive victory for Washington over New Jersey and the third series sweep of the Jackals.

It was significant for another reason: it pushed the Washington’s record to 28-27, meaning this is the first day the Wild Things have awakened with a winning record since May 10, 2019.

“It has been a long time, but at the same time it wasn’t the number we were all paying attention to,” said Washington shortstop Nick Ward, who scored the game’s winning run in the seventh inning.

“We were concerned about the number of games behind we were. It was only 6½ games when this series began.”

Washington is now 5½ games behind first-place Sussex County in the Northeast Division.

While the Wild Things swept the series, this game took more time and more grit to win than the first two contests. New Jersey led 3-1 in the second inning, but Washington tied it in the bottom of the second and pushed across the go-ahead run with rain falling hard in the seventh as Ward scored from first base on a single.

Ward was on first base with one out when he took off for second as New Jersey reliever Matt Vogel (1-2) delivered a pitch. With Ward running, Andrew Sohn laced what looked like a perfect hit-and-run single to right centerfield. Ward reached second base and headed for third as New Jersey right fielder Josh Rehwaldt moved to his right to field Sohn’s base hit.

The 6-6 Rehwaldt, who was one of the final cuts by the Wild Things in spring training, stumbled on the wet turf and dropped to his knees. Ward, meanwhile, kept running, rounding third base without delay and headed for home plate. He beat the relay throw, giving Washington a 4-3 lead.

“That wasn’t a hit-and-run,” Ward was quick to say. “That was a steal that (manager) Tom (Vaeth) called and Sohn just got a good swing on it.”

Vaeth said he saw Rehwaldt lose his footing on the play.

“That guy had to go a long way for the ball, and I’m going to take my chances with Nick Ward going at full stride. (Rehwaldt) is 6-6 and he had to get to his feet and throw a wet baseball.”

Ward said he was glad Vaeth played it aggressively.

“On a ball hit to right field or center field, you can go from first to third, but I was a little surprised I didn’t get the stop sign at third. I never broke stride. I’m glad I didn’t have to slide at third base at full speed because I might have slid right into the dugout.”‘

Both teams were running out of the dugouts moments after Ward scored. The umpires called the teams off the field because of the rain but not everybody got that far. That’s because words were exchanged between New Jersey center fielder Demetrius Moorer and somebody in Washington’s bullpen. Instead of leaving the field, Moorer went toward the bullpen as if to challenge the Wild Things’ relief pitchers.

Both benches emptied, though no punches were thrown and order was quickly restored. During the rain delay, the umpiring crew ejected Moorer, Vogel and Washington’s Keven Pimental, a starting pitcher who was not going to play.

The Wild Things’ bullpen did play a huge part in the victory. Four Washington relievers combined for 4 1/3 shutout innings, allowing only two baserunners.

Jesus Balaguer inherited a full-blown jam when he replaced starter Steven Colon in the fourth. Balaguer entered with the bases loaded and two outs but quickly got Stanley Espinal to fly out, ending the threat.

B.J. Sabol (1-0) was the winner, striking out all three batters he faced in the seventh. James Meeker pitched the eighth, extending his team-record scoreless streak to 32 innings dating back to 2019.

Zach Strecker pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

“Jesus came in and got a big out, then went back and threw a clean inning,” Vaeth said. “B.J. got the three hitters we needed him to get. Then we got the run and I like our chances when we can turn the game over to Meeker and Strecker, who were rested.

“These were three good and important wins. This one was really good because we had to battle through some things.”

Bralin Jackson had a run-scoring single in the first for Washington, and Scotty Dubrule’s two-run single in the second tied the score at 3-3.

Wild Things center Hector Roa kept the score tied with a remarkable inning-ending catch in the third. With a runner on second, Espinal hit a long drive to the wall that Roa, while sprinting with his back to the infield, reached up and grabbed as he crashed hard into the wall. Roa smacked his left knee off the wall and laid in pain on the field for several minutes. He remained in the game until being removed in the ninth inning.

Notes

The start of the game was delayed 74 minutes because of rain. The delay in the seventh lasted 27 minutes. … Washington begins a home series tonight against Tri-City. The ValleyCats have won five of six against the Wild Things, all played in Troy, N.Y.