Wild Things battle back, win another series
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
With Tr-City’s Willie Garcia (24) heading for third base, the Wild Things’ Ian Walters lines up the thrown to first base to end the top of the first inning Thursday night.
Willy Garcia
Matt Phipps
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington catcher Matt Phipps, right, is congratulated by Cole Brannen (1) at home plate after Phipps got hit his first professional home run that opened the scoring for the Wild Things in the third inning Thursday night against Tri-City.
Washington shortstop Nick Ward fields a grounder to end the top of the fifth inning Thursday against Tri-City at Wild Things Park.
Mark Marietta/ For the Observer-Reporter
Nick Ward
One of the groups in attendance Thursday night at Wild Things Park was the Allegheny County Bomb Squad.
That seemed appropriate because the Wild Things and Tri-City ValleyCats spent the early innings, to use a baseball term, hitting bombs, combining for five home runs.
In the end, however, it was a well-placed sacrifice bunt – for the second consecutive night – and a pinch-hit two-run single by Scotty Dubrule that pushed Washington to a 10-9 win.
Dubrule hit bouncer up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the eighth off Tri-City reliever Troy Cruz (0-3) to give Washington the lead, 10-9, for good in the back-and-forth game. The hit scored L.G. Castillo from third base and Ramon Osuna from second. They each reached base with no-out singles and advanced on an excellent bunt by rookie catcher Matt Phipps, who homered early in the game.
After a groundout held the runners at second and third, Washington manager Tom Vaeth chose to pinch-hit Dubrule for Chris Eusay, who was 2-for-3.
The victory gave Washington its sixth consecutive series win.
Lukas Young (2-1), the fifth Wild Things pitcher of the game, was the winner, striking out two in 1 1/3 innings.
Tri-City hit three “bombs” in the third inning against Washington rookie starting pitcher Thomas Hart. Former Chicago White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia hit a one-out shot over the batter’s eye wall in center field to give Tri-City a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Denis Phipps, another former major leaguer, homered, just to the left of the batter’s eye. After Juan Silverio singled, Pavin Parks homered to right centerfield to give the ValleyCats a 5-0 lead.
Washington answered with four runs in the bottom of the third off Tri-City starter Leo Crawford. Phipps led off with a solo home run that clanked off the left-field foul pole. It was the first home run as a professional for Phipps, who played his college ball at Western Kentucky.
It was likely the first time in professional baseball that two players named Phipps homered in the same inning and for different teams.
After Matt Phipps’ home run, a walk to Washington’s Cole Brannen, a single by Eusay and infield single by Wagner Lagrange loaded the bases. A single by Hector Roa scored one run, and Eusay and Lagrange scored when Tri-City threw away a potential double play grounder.
Tri-City pushed the lead to 7-4 before Washington got a sacrifice fly by Lagrane in the fifth and a solo home run to right centerfield by Osuna to pull to within one run.
Washington finally took the lead in the seventh at 8-7, getting an RBI single from Nick Ward and an error by Tri-City that allowed Eusay to score the go-ahead run.
Tri-City took advantage of a passed ball and balk to score twice in the top of the eighth for a 9-8 lead. Carson McCusker and Juan Santana each had RBI singles to put the ValleyCats back on top.
Notes
The game was Washington’s last against a team from the East Division until July 22. The Wild Things will play defending Frontier League champion Schaumburg at home tonight (7:05) to begin a stretch of 33 consecutive games against West Division opponents. … During a pitching change in the bottom of the seventh inning, a shirtless fan ran across the field from the first-base side to the left-field corner, scaled the outfield fence and fell into the old vistors’ bullpen before climbing over another fence and running into the parking lot.