Bombers Spin out Lowell to Keep Wild Card Lead

Yankees defeat the Spinners to hold on to the lead in the Wild Card standings

By: Robert Pimpsner

August 26, 2007 – The Staten Island Yankees spun out a victory in the middle game of a 3-game set against the Lowell Spinners.  The victory allowed the Baby Bombers to remain 4 games behind the rival Brooklyn Cyclones and keep the league’s lone Wild Card spot.

                Chris Farley got the start for the bombers, his first against his former team.  Farley went just 4.1 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits.  The 24 year old right-hander turned it over to Ryan Zink who went on to earn his sixth victory of the season.  Zink pitched 2.2 innings allowing just 1 hit and no runs. 

Jacinto Gonell came in and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning before handing the ball over to the closer Jonathan “The Sandman” Ortiz.  Ortiz got his team leading 11^th save, which puts him Chris Russ in fifth place on the All-Time List.

                The bombers fell behind in the second inning when the Spinners touched Yankee pitcher Chris Farley for 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk.  Staten Island would make up 1 run in the top of the fourth when Jose Gil smacked a fly ball to right field for his sixth homerun in 2007.  Lowell would touch Farley again for another 3 runs in fifth to give them a 6-1 lead.  The Baby Bombers made up 1 of those runs in the sixth inning when Jose Gil belted a fly ball single to center that plated Damon Sublett.

It looked as if the Yankees were going to fall to their Massachusetts rivals going into the eighth inning.  Brian Chavez led the inning off with his fourth hit of the season and then moved over to third when Taylor Holiday knocked a double to left.  Chavez would score when Damon Sublett grounded out to get his league leading 48^th RBI.  Holiday came home when Braedyn Pruitt smacked a groundball to centerfield. 

Jose Gil was next up at the plated and proceeded to smack his 12^th double of the year, moving Pruitt to third.  David Willams then reached base on a fielding error by the Lowell shortstop, allowing both Pruitt and Gil to score.  DJ Hollingsworth was next at the plate and drew a walk to put 2 men on and Chris Raber at the plate.  While Raber was batting Williams and Hollingsworth demonstrated some speed as they pulled off a double steal.  The Bombers would then go on to take the lead when Raber lined a single to centerfield, allowing both runners to score.

                Staten Island was not done scoring as they plated a single run in the ninth for a 9-6 lead.  With 1 out Damon Sublett drew a walk and then came home when Braedyn Pruitt belted a double to center. 

                The Yankees got a much needed win as they now have a 2-game lead over the Spinners in the Wild Card.  These 2 teams will meet up again tomorrow night in the rubber game of the series.  Ryan Pope will be on the mound for the Yankees, making his eighth start of the season.  Pope is 2-0 this season with a 2.35 ERA and 30 strike outs in 30.2 innings. 

Notes: The win brings the Yankees 13 games from clinching their third consecutive playoff berth.  Jose Gil was the Baby-Bombers.com Player of the Game; Gil went 4 for 5 with a homerun and 2 RBIs against the Spinners.