Wild Things walk away with loss
It is probably more than a coincidence that the words walk and loss each contain four letters.
Walk and loss go together perfectly in baseball, as in walk too many batters and you’re going end the game with a loss.
In other words, they are the ugly four-letter words of baseball.
Because the Wild Things’ pitchers issued too many walks Saturday night, Washington was dealt an 8-4 loss by the New York Boulders in a game that tested the patience of many of the 2,845 in attendance.
Washington’s six pitchers combined to walk 10 batters and hit one. Four of the free passes came around to score as the Boulders overcame an early 3-1 lead by the Wild Things.
“For whatever reason, we couldn’t throw the little white thing over the over the other white thing,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said from his office, loud enough to be heard in the clubhouse. “We gave 11 free bases that (New York) didn’t have to work at all to get.”
New York pitchers also had plenty of issues with throwing strikes. They combined to walk seven and hit two. The Wild Things, however, couldn’t cash in. They stranded at least one baserunner in every inning except the ninth, had a runner picked off at second base and left a total of 12 men on base, seven in scoring position.
“It’s real simple. If you don’t throw strikes, and don’t cash in when you get runners in scoring position, it’s tough to win,” Vaeth said. “It goes hand in hand. When you’re not pitching it and keeping us in a rhythm offensively, it’s hard to threaten and score consistently.”
The game started well for Washington. One night after winning the season opener 11-0, the Wild Things led 3-1 after the first inning. The Wild Things loaded the bases with one out against New York starter Alex Mack and Andrew Czech slapped a two-run single through the right side of the infield. A passed ball allowed L.G. Castillo to race home with a run that made it 3-1.
The Boulders used two walks by Washington starter Daren Osby (0-1) to score a run without the help of a hit in the third, cutting the Wild Things’ lead to 3-2.
New York had only eight hits but the Boulders made them count. In the fourth, Gian Martellini hit a two-run homer that put New York ahead for good, 4-3.
In the fifth, Washington reliever Bryan Quillens replaced Osby and didn’t retire any of the five batters he faced. Quillens walked the first batter he faced, Jake Mackenzie, then gave up a single to Gabriel Garcia and walked David Vinsky to load the bases.
Giovanni Garbella drew the third walk of the inning, forcing in a run, and Max Smith laced a three-run triple down the right-field line to give the Boulders an 8-3 lead.
“They got two big hits, the home run and the bases-clearing triple,” Vaeth said of the Boulders. “Everything else was a case of walks.”
Relievers Nathan Beardsley, Christian James, Lukas Young and Dan Kubiuk held New York scoreless the rest of the way but Washington’s hitters could generate only one more run. That came in the eighth, when Justin Henle scored on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice by Scott Dubrule, a play on which New York shortstop Tucker Nathans ranged behind second base, made a diving stop and flipped to the bag for a forceout. It was one of four key defensive plays the Boulders made over the final four innings.
“They played a good game,” Vaeth said. “We didn’t do anywhere near enough. Just wasn’t good enough.”
Matt Leon (1-0), who retired the only two batters he faced, was the winning pitcher.