Wild Things inch closer to .500
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Right fielder Anthony Brocato (34) congratulates teammate Andrew Czech as Brocato returns to the dugout from his two-run home run in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game against Joliet.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Center fielder Caleb McNeely is greeted by celebrating teammates as he returns to the dugout from his solo home run to lead off the seventh inning and put the Wild Things up 6-1 over Joliet at Wild Things Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Caleb McNeely (23) ducks safely into second under the high throw to Joliet second baseman Matt Mcarry in the third inning.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington shortstop Carson Clowers lines up the throw to first after getting the toss from second baseman Scotty Dubrule to get the lead runner for the first out of the fifth innning.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington's left fielder Robert Chayka dives safely ahead of the throw to Joliet's Christian Fedko for a triple in the sixth inning at Wild Things Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wild Things starting pitcher Kobe Foster threw seven innings, allowing one run on five hits in the victory over Joliet.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wild Things third baseman Wes Darvill applies the tag to Joliet's Phillip Steering for the first out of the second inning.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wild Things second baseman Scotty Dubrule scores the fifth run for Washington, driven in by J. C. Santini in the sixth inning.
The Wild Things have to wonder why they didn’t do this sooner. Like two months ago.
Anthony Brocato and Caleb McNeely homered, Kobe Foster pitched seven stellar innings and the Wild Things rolled to a 6-4 victory over the Joliet Slammers on Wednesday night.
It was the fifth win in six games for Washington (45-47), which inched closer to the .500 mark with four games remaining in the Frontier League season.
The Wild Things had production from almost every spot in the batting order. Rookie left fielder Robert Chayka was 3-for-4 and a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. McNeely, the rookie center fielder out of West Virginia, scored three runs to go with his home run and a double.
The biggest hit of the game was Brocato’s two-run homer to left field with one out in the sixth inning, which gave Washington a 4-1 lead. It was part of three-run inning by the Wild Things and the team-high 27th home run of the season.
The homer came off Joliet starter Turner Larkins (10-5), who entered the game second in the league in wins.
Brocato has more home runs than any player in the league who doesn’t play for the New Jersey Jackals.
“We’re playing really well, the best we’ve played all year. I think everybody would agree with that,” Brocato said. “Everything is falling into place.
“I was saying earlier today, while we were in that batting cage, that if we played another 96 games, we’d probably be the first-place team.”
The best news of the night for Washington started about 10 minutes after the Wild Things’ victory, when Gateway’s Clint Freeman hit a two-run walkoff homer to beat Evansville 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader. Then, Gateway won the nightcap 4-3 in the Frontier League’s sudden-death inning. The Otters’ losses kept the Wild Things’ playoff hopes alive, at least for another day. One more Evansville win, or one more Washington loss, will eliminate the Wild Things from the playoff race.
“If it doesn’t work out our way, then we’ll feel like we just ran out of time,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “I like the makeup of the team. It’s a shame it took a while to get to here. The young kids have gotten better.”
Foster (7-5) can still be considered one of the young kids. The second-year pro scattered five hits and one run over seven innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
“He pitched really well,” Vaeth said. “The last two weeks we’ve had really solid pitching. The guys have done a better job of pitching in certain situations.”
The only run Foster allowed happened in the fourth inning, when Foster left one up in the strike zone and Slammers first baseman Tommy Stevenson hit it off the light pole beyond left centerfield for a solo homer. It was Stevenson’s ninth home run of the season and cut Washington’s lead to 2-1.
The Wild Things scored single runs in the first and third innings. In the first, McNeely hit a leadoff double and scored when Wes Darvill put down a bunt single and the throw to first base was errant. Washington made it 2-0 in the third when McNeely drew a leadoff walk, stole second base and scored on a single by Wagner Lagrange.
Two batters after Brocato’s home run, Scotty Dubrule reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a double off the wall in left centerfield by J.C. Santini that made it 5-1.
McNeely led off the sixth with his home run.
Joliet made it close in the ninth when it scored three times with two outs against reliever Stephen Knapp.
“Nothing is better than when you work hard and see the fruits of your labor,” Vaeth said. “I see these young guys getting better. They don’t quit. They know they’re up against a longshot, but they’re not quitting.”
Extra bases
First baseman Andrew Czech drew a walk in the sixth inning and scored on the Brocato home run. It was Czech’s 88th walk of the season, which set the Wild Things’ single-season record. .. Chayka doubled off the 325 feet sign at the right-field foul pole in the second inning, singled up the middle in the fourth and tripled to left center in the sixth. He had a chance to be only the second player in Wild Things history to hit for the cycle but was called out on strikes in the seventh inning.