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Wild Things beat rain, Slammers for 7th straight win

4 min read
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Not even Mother Nature could stop the surging Wild Things.

Washington pitcher Thomas Dorminy was able to get 15 quick outs and the Wild Things’ offense produced just enough, and in a timely fashion, to beat the Joliet Slammers 4-0 in a rain-shortened five-inning game Sunday evening.

The game was stopped when torrential rain began falling. After a 30-minute delay it was ended.

The win capped a 6-0 homestand for Washington and increased the Wild Things’ winning streak to seven games, the franchise’s longest of the decade. Washington (18-9) leads the Frontier League’s East Division by three games over second-place Lake Erie.

Dorminy threw a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts and several Washington hitters continued hot streaks. Shortstop Brett Marr drove in a run and scored another, and center fielder James Harris went 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a two-run homer.

When talking about Washington’s fast start, much of the discussion has to center around Harris, a former first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays who is in his second season with the Wild Things. Harris is the team’s leadoff hitter, yet he leads the league in RBI by a large margin with 32.

Harris has been consistent and reliable. When he drove in Mike Hill, who had walked, with the game’s first run by slapping a two-out single off Joliet starter Shane Bryant (0-3) back up the middle in the third inning, Harris improved to 7-for-9 with runners in scoring position and two outs. Harris has a ridiculous .609 batting average (14-for-23) with runners in scoring position. Earlier this season, the Oakland, Calif., native became the first Wild Things player to hit for the cycle.

In other words, Harris is playing like you would expect a former first-round draft pick to perform.

“We’re seeing that guy now,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said. “Last year, our outfield was set when he came in and he had to be the designated hitter much of the time. Did that hurt his hitting? Maybe. I know he didn’t like that.

“James worked hard all offseason and was ready to go. The guys look to him to spark us and he thrives in those situations. Since the start of the season, he’s been locked in.”

With the rain falling, Harris locked in on a pitch from Bryant in the fifth and drove it over the wall between the scoreboard in left centerfield and the green batter’s eye for his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot.

A few minutes later, the game was stopped and never restarted.

“I’m just trying to be patient and put a good swing on the ball and not do too much,” said Harris, who raised his batting average to .314.

That Harris is leading the league in RBI from the leadoff spot speaks volumes about the recent surge from the bottom of the batting order. Players like Hill, Louis Mele and Marr are giving Harris plenty of at-bats with runners on base. Marr, who batted in the No. 9 spot Sunday, has 14 hits during the seven-game winning streak.

“We can hit Nos. 1 through 9,” Harris said. “Teams will have to deal with that.”

“James has been excellent but give credit to the bottom of the order,” Langbehn said. “It has stabilized. Brett Marr had an incredible week.”

Dorminy (4-1) was also good against Joliet. He skirted out of trouble in the first inning after allowing a single to start the game and hitting a batter. Only one Slammers player reached second base over the next four innings. Dorminy struck out five and walked one.

“We’re playing with so much confidence,” Langbehn said. “We’re going to run with it as long as we can. The confidence level of this team is better than at any time in my three years here. We had a good team last year, but this team has an edge to it.”

Extra bases

Former Wild Things relief pitcher Zac Grotz (2016) was signed Sunday by the New York Mets. Grotz had been playing with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. York is managed by Mark Mason, a former Wild Things manager and coach. … Washington begins a six-game road trip Tuesday in Sauget, Ill., against the Gateway Grizzlies.

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