Wild Things’ win is battery powered
The Wild Things’ play has been disappointing and frustrating for all involved, but throughout the early struggles manager Tom Vaeth has found one calming aspect of the job. Every fifth game he gets to write Ryan Hennen’s name onto his lineup card.
Hennen, a lefthanded pitcher, has been Washington’s staff ace and slump stopper.
A rookie from Cold Springs, Minn., Hennen turned in another gem Wednesday night with seven strong innings, and catcher Trevor Casanova hit a two-run homer, as Washington defeated the New Jersey Jackals 3-1 at soggy Wild Things Park.
The game wasn’t decided until Washington right fielder Bralin Jackson went back to the wall, jumped and caught Jason Agresti’s fly ball with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth.
Hennen (5-1) entered the game third in the Frontier League in ERA and did nothing to hurt his standing. He gave up only five hits and one run. He walked one and struck out two as his ERA dropped to 1.66.
The only pitch Hennen would like to have back is one he threw to former major leaguer Alfredo Marte. New Jersey started the game with a bang, literally, when Marte opened the second inning with a solo homer that clanked loudly off the scoreboard beyond the left centerfield wall.
That was all the scoring for the Jackals. After Hennen’s seven sterling innings, James Meeker pitched the eighth to extend his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to start the season to 18 1/3. Zach Strecker got the final three outs and his sixth save.
“It all starts with commanding the zone,” Casanova said of Hennen’s success. “He pounds the strike zone. All year he’s been getting ahead in the count. That’s the biggest thing about pitching in this league — get ahead and let guys get themselves out.”
That’s what New Jersey starter Spencer Hereford (1-3) did. Though Washington had some hard-hit balls early in the game, it did not have a hit until Grant Heyman’s single with two outs in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, Andrew Czech drew a leadoff walk for Washington. Following a strikeout, Casanova fell behind 0-2 in the count.
“At that point, I was just trying to put something in play,” Casanova admitted.
Casanova did put an 0-2 pitch in play, then out of play. He got a better pitch to hit than he could have expected and the left-handed hitting catcher drove it far over the wall in right field for a two-run homer. It was his third home run of the season.
“He threw a backdoor slider and it hung over the middle of the plate,” Casanova explained.
The Wild Things made it 3-1 in the sixth. Nick Ward led off with a double and came around to score when the throw to first base on Andrew Sohn’s grounder got away and went down the right-field line.
Hennen got a big out in the seventh, following a 16-minute rain delay. He returned with the count 2-2 on Marte and induced a flyout for the inning’s first out. Two batters later, the inning was over and Hennen’s night was done.
“You have to credit the kid for pitching the way he did,” Vaeth said. “All he did in the seventh inning after the rain delay was big. He could have easily walked Marte. That shows the kid has learned something.”
New Jersey caused a stir in the ninth when Santiago Chirino doubled to right centerfield and Marte reached on a two-out infield single. Agresti’s fly ball, however, came up a couple of feet shy of carrying over the wall.
Notes
The start of the game was delayed 33 minutes because of rain. … Prior to the game, Washington put shortstop Gabe Howell on the inactive list and signed pitcher Alex Boshers to the active roster. Howell has left the team. The 30-year-old Boshers is the Wild Things’ pitching coach. He played briefly for Sioux Falls in the American Association last year and has six years of pro experience. If Boshers gets into a game, then he will be the oldest player to ever play for the Wild Things. … Czech went 0-for-2 with a walk, ending his 13-game hitting streak. … Marte played in 66 games over two seasons (2013 and 2014) for the Arizona Diamond backs and five for the Los Angeles Angels in 2015.