“The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.”
– Ted Williams
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David Buchanan dealing.
Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell
The IronPigs dropped a very winnable game last night 2-1. They managed only six hits, and despite getting help from 2 Chief errors, were 0-10 with runners in scoring position. It’s a shame, because it was a waste of another nice start from recent call-up David Buchanan. I didn’t get to see much of him pitching, but the numbers speak for themselves: 6 1/3 IP, 6H, 2 R/ER, 3BB, 3K for a 1.77 ERA at this point. Jay Johnson gave up a wounded duck on which scored an inherited runner. JC Ramirez and the now-called-up BJ Rosenberg held things down to give the ‘Pigs a chance. Ruppy and Gillies each had two hits and were on base with two outs at the end. Gillies has been hitting near .300 since his return from Reading and has his average up to .224.
Jay Johnson
Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell
It was a key play in the game. I thought he was out, too. So did Brundage. Replay discussion continues…
Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell
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Playoff Picture:
The IronPigs are 4.5 games back of the Rochester RedWings for the top spot in the International League North, with 18 games to play. Also ahead of the IronPigs are the recently resurgent Pawtucket RedSox who have won 5 in a row, and are 2.0 games back. The Buffalo Bisons are 3.5 games back.
In the Wild Card race, Pawtucket is in the lead, with the Tides 1.0 games back and the Bisons 1.5 games back. The IronPigs are 2.5 games back.
What to cheer for?
Obviously, for the IronPigs to win. The ‘Cuse has been a bad match-up for the ‘Pigs thus far, but we really need this game tonight. We’ve got to take at least 3 of 4 from the struggling Rail-U-Pines over the home and home upcoming.
We’d like the teams above us to lose, as well. We’ve got the tiebreak against Norfolk, but cheering for them to lose is pretty easy. What about the other IL North teams, though? What if they play each other?
Well, Buffalo worries me the least. We’ve got the most head-to-head against them, and will have the opportunity to knock them out. (And, if we can’t, well, we don’t deserve a spot, then.) We’ve got a couple against Pawtucket, too, and we’ve played them very very well. I’ve been directing my negative cheering mostly towards Rochester.
See the entire standings here
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Bonus Picture: I hope Lindsey knows that the strange Phanatic species reproduces by…
Please Practice Safe Phanaticism
Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell
See you at the park,
@kram209
noisenation.mlblogs.com 