Jackals batter Wild Things pitching
The Wild Things begin a three-game series – split over two sites – tonight at EQT Park against the Lake Erie Crushers, the team they are chasing for first place in the Frontier League’s Central Division.
If the Wild Things are to catch the Crushers in the standings, surely they will have to pitch better than they did the last two nights against the New Jersey Jackals.
One night after pulling out a 10-8 walk-off win, Washington yielded three multi-run homers and lost, 9-4, to New Jersey, the lowest-scoring team in the league.
The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for New Jersey.
The loss left Washington 2½ games behind first-place Lake Erie, pending the result of the Crushers’ game Thursday night at Evansville.
Pitcher Regi Grace (2-1), who began the season in the Wild Things’ rotation before leaving the team to play in the Mexican League, returned to start the game but he gave up a two-run homer in each of the first two innings.
Former Wild Things outfielder Jake DeLeo, who went 5-for-5 for the Jackals on Wednesday night, homered in the first inning to give New Jersey a 2-0 lead. Jackals catcher Jimmy Costin hit his first home run of the season in the second inning to make it 4-1. Both of the two-run homers were preceded by a walk.
Grace went 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, four runs and two walks. He struck out two.
New Jersey’s Ryan Ford put the game out of reach with a three-run opposite-field homer down the right-field line off reliever Christian Diaz in the fifth inning. It gave the Jackals a 7-2 lead. Ford (3-for-5) homered for the second consecutive night.
Much like in a loss Sunday to Florence, the Wild Things had plenty of scoring opportunities early but didn’t cash in often enough.
Washington scored in the first inning against New Jersey starter Alex Barker (6-5) when Eddie Hacopian and Tommy Caufield hit consecutive doubles. The Wild Things added another run in the third when Hacopian scored from second base when Jackals second baseman Luis Acevedo booted a Wagner Lagrange grounder.
The Wild Things had at least one baserunner in every inning and left nine on base. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position over the first six innings.
Down 9-2, Washington put its first three hitters on base in the sixth and settled for two runs, on a sacrifice fly by catcher Nolan Wilson, who was making his professional debut, and an RBI groundout by Kyle Edwards.
Extra bases
To make room for Grace on the active roster, Washington put pitcher Dylan Kirkeby on the 7-day injured list. Kirkeby was the Wild Things’ starting pitcher Wednesday night and had been acquired last weekend in a trade with Windy City. … Washington and Lake Erie will play Saturday and Sunday in Avon, Ohio. They are the lone road games for Washington in a 15-game stretch that runs through Aug. 10. … Washington had a 12-12 record in July.