Czech homers twice, Foster deals as Wild Things sweep Otters
Give Wild Things pitcher Kobe Foster an early three-run lead in EQT Park and you’ve pretty much drained the drama from a baseball game.
That’s what Washington first baseman Andrew Czech did Thursday night.
Twice.
Czech hit a pair of home runs and Foster pitched seven strong innings as Washington defeated Evansville 5-2 to complete a three-game series sweep.
The win increases Washington’s lead in the Central Division to 2½ games over second-place Lake Erie. The Wild Things will host the Crushers for a weekend series beginning tonight. It’s the final series before the all-star break.
Czech hit a three-run opposite-field homer in the first inning off Evansville starter Braden Scott (3-2), who had beaten the Wild Things twice this year. Czech’s home run, that scored Carlos Amezquita and Tommy Caufield, gave Washington a 3-0 lead and Foster some margin for error, not that the lefthander needed it.
“That was huge,” Foster said of Czech’s first home run of the night. “With a three-run lead you can attack more and a solo home run doesn’t hurt anything.”
Foster (2-1) allowed four hits over seven innings, retiring 15 Evansville hitters in a row at one stretch.
He looked nothing like the pitcher who gave up 11 hits and seven runs at Evansville in a loss to Scott and the Otters in mid-June.
“I’ve had a handful of games in this league in which I gave up five or six runs. That was one of them, so it was in the back of my mind, for sure,” Foster said.
The only Otters hitter Foster had trouble with was catcher Logan Brown, who brought home a run in the second with a bunt single on a safety squeeze and Evansville’s second run on a single up the middle in the seventh.
Brown’s first RBI made the score 3-1, but Czech made it a three-run lead again when he led off the fourth with his 15th home run of the season. He turned on a hanging breaking ball from Scott and lined over the fence in right field.
Two batters later, Washington right fielder Francisco Del Valle, who was signed earlier in the day, lined a ball over the head of Evansville center fielder Graham Brown that went for a triple. Del Valle scored when Jake Houtz’s grounder hugged the third-base line and was thrown wide to first for a two-base error and a 5-1 Washington lead.
Foster had retired 16 straight Otters until Graham Brown doubled to right centerfield with two outs in the seventh. He scored on Logan Brown’s single and the Otters managed to put Foster in a sticky situation by loading the bases, but he got David Menham to fly out to end the threat.
Foster walked three and struck out four.
“He threw really well tonight,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “We got him some early runs and added on in the middle.
“Kobe knew what was at stake. We haven’t had many sweeps (two) this year.”
“I needed to go deep in this game,” Foster added.
Washington reliever Hector Garcia struck out the side in the eighth inning and Andrew Herbert pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Scott gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits over seven innings. He walked four and struck out eight.
Extra bases
Del Valle played the last two years for Gary of the American Association and is a former draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels. To make room on the roster for Del Valle, Washington released center fielder Kadon Morton. It was the second time Morton has been released by the Wild Things this year. He was cut at the end of spring training and re-signed in May. He was batting .275 with six stolen bases. … Caufield was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. He reached base in each of his last seven plate appearances in the series.