Wild Things complete weekend sweep of Gateway
When the Washington Wild Things began July with a three-game series in Sauget, Ill., it triggered a rough patch.
The Wild Things were swept by the Gateway Grizzlies and went 1-5 on the road trip. They won only four times over a 12-games stretch that saw them fall out of first place in the Frontier League’s Central Division.
The Wild Things have been playing catch-up ever since that stretch.
On Sunday, Washington gained some revenge by completing a three-game series sweep of Gateway at EQT Park.
Sebastian Rodriguez pitched seven shutout innings and Cole Fowler drove in a pair of runs as the Wild Things defeated the Grizzlies, 3-2.
Though Washington was unable to gain ground in the Central Division this weekend because first-place Lake Erie completed a series sweep of Florence, the Wild Things did move to within a half-game of Gateway for the first of two wild cards in the Midwest Conference.
And as Wild Things infielder Ethan Wilder said, Washington was able to get some payback for the sweep at Gateway.
“Of course we owed them something,” Wilder said. “They killed us at their place.”
Washington swept this series with pitching defense. The pitchers held Gateway scoreless for a stretch of 23 2/3 innings during the series. And when the pitchers found themselves in a sticky situation, the defense came through, like in the eighth inning Saturday night. Down 2-0 in that game, Gateway had two runners on base with no outs when Washington made a pitching change and reliever Hector Garcia was able to get out of the jam with one pitch – a triple play.
No triple play was necessary in the series finale. Rodriguez (3-2) allowed only two hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out three.
“Other than his first with us, he has been terrific,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said of Rodriguez, who played college ball at Point Park. “After every start, he tells me he feels better and better. This week he had two good starts. His start Tuesday against Windy was just as good as this one.”
“We’ve made some bullpen moves that have impacted us positively, but I’ll take our five starters against anyone in the league,” Wilder added.
Washington gave Rodriguez the only runs he would need during the fourth inning. Andrew Czech led off with a single against Gateway starter Lucas Veinbergs (5-4) and advanced on a single by Wagner Lagrange. One out later, Wilder sliced a double down the right-field line, just out of the reach of Gateway first baseman DJ Stewart. Czech scored on the play to make it 1-0.
Cole Fowler followed with a double to deep left centerfield that scored Lagrange and Wilder.
Gateway ended its long scoreless streak in the eighth inning. With one on and one out, Dale Thomas, the Grizzlies’ leadoff hitter, smacked a two-run homer to left field off reliever Joe Nahas that made it a one-run game.
Andrew Herbert pitched the ninth inning and retired the first two Gateway hitters on one pitch each, then struck out Victor Castillo to secure his 11th save.
Washington ended the six-game homestand with a 4-2 record.
“We have to keep our eye on the team we’re chasing and still handle our business,” Vaeth said. “This sweep was important because of what happened against Windy City.”
Extra bases
The Frontier League’s transactions deadline is Monday and the Wild Things made several moves in advance. They traded relief pitcher Jacob McCaskey to Grand Junction of the Pioneer League for a player to be named. They also put relief pitcher Ethan Brown on the 60-day injured list, activated pitcher Dylan Kirkeby from the injured list and acquired shortstop Pavin Parks from Ottawa in a trade for outfielder Robert Chayka. It ended Chayka’s second stint with Washington. He was batting .294 and is among the Frontier League leaders in on-base percentage (.452) but had been on the injured list and had not played since July 25. Parks is batting .256 with 8 home runs and 12 stolen bases. Washington will be his fourth team this season.