VS ROAD WARRIORS
Damien Myers (0-4, 4.14 ERA) vs.
James Lira (2-2, 8.64 ERA)
The Barnstomers try to make it four in a row against the Road Warriors. Lira, the former closer, gets his second spot start before returning to the bullpen. The righthander earned a win against the Bluefish on June 16. Myers made two relief appearances against Lancaster in the opening series — allowing two runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Pre-game notes:
- Neither Vince Blue nor Roberto Mejia is in the starting lineup tonight. Phil Norton will be available in the pen.
– Numbers alert: Blue is wearing 22, Norton has 28 and Mejia dons 6.
– Dominick Ambrosini is hitting .382 with five homers and 19 RBIs in his last 18 games. We’ve talked about Jutt Hileman quite a bit, but you could make a case for putting Ambrosini on the All-Star team as well.
– Manager Frank Klebe talked about reliever Barry Armitage …
“I like him. I think he’s got a pretty good upside to him. He throws strikes and keeps the ball down. You can work from there.
– The Road Warriors are a woeful 12-33. It’s the worst record in the league by 6 1/2 games.
Lineups …
Road Warriors ………………………. Lancaster
Travis Ezi, CF ………………………. Mike Woods, 2B
David Housel, 3B …………………… Danny Gonzalez, SS
Sandy Aracena, C …………………. Jeremy Todd, 1B
Vito Chiaravalloti, DH ……………… Jutt Hileman, CF
Ian Bladergroen, 1B ……………….. Dominick Ambrosini, LF
Jason Bryan, RF ……………………. Steve Van Note, 3B
Steven Doetsch, LF ……………….. Chris Van Rossum, RF
Jorge Mejia, 2B …………………….. Jeremy Deitrick, C
Gabe Suarez, SS …………………… Russ Cleveland, DH
Scoring summary:
FINAL: Barnstormers 6, Road Warriors 3
Stormers 4th: Gonzalez hits solo home run. Barnstormers lead 1-0.
Road Warriors 5th: Doetsch hits solo home run. Game tied at 1.
Stormers 5th: Cleveland’s double scores Van Rossum. Barnstormers lead 2-1.
Road Warriors 6th: Bryan’s double scores Bladergroen. Game tied at 2.
Stormers 6th: Todd scores on wild pitch. Van Rossum’s single scores Van Note and Hileman. Barnstormers lead 5-2.
Road Warriors 7th: Housel’s single scores Mejia. Barnstormers lead 5-3.
Stormers 8th: Van Note hits solo home run. Barnstormers lead 6-3.
RECORD: 23-26
PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Lira (6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs as he earned his second win in as many starts).
WHAT WENT RIGHT: What a turnaround for Lira. Since his rough outing against Somerset on June 7, he has posted a 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. The righthander is an integral part of the Barnstormers’ plans. If he returns to form and Barry Armitage pitches the way everyone expects, Lancaster suddenly has a formidable set-up corps from the right side.
*Chris Van Rossum went 3-for-4, including a key two-run single in the sixth inning that gave the Barnstormers some breathing room. Saturday I noted Van Rossum’s struggles on the road. Today I’ll point out he’s hitting .292 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
*Danny Gonzalez connected for his 11th homer. He’s now tied with Jeremy Todd for the team lead. All of Gonzalez’s homers have come in the last 34 games.
*Ross Peeples pitched out of a jam in the seventh. With the tying runs on base, Peeples retired David Housel and Vito Chiaravoloti to preserve the Barnstormers’ lead. Now that he’s no longer getting overworked, Peeples is pitching really well again.
*Derrick DePriest pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save. He’s still money in the bank.
*Steve Van Note belted his fourth homer in the eighth. He also scored two runs.
*Newcomers Vince Blue, Roberto Mejia and Phil Norton were added to the roster to provide some much-needed depth. We‘ll see if Blue gets to play regularly. There seems to be some kind of newcomer initiation with the Barnstormers this season.
*Lancaster had 10 hits and only left five men on base.
*The Barnstormers have won four in a row – matching their longest winning streak of the season. They took care of business against a weak team and are within three games of .500 for the first time since June 10.
*Somerset defeated Camden 4-0 Sunday, so the Barnstormers are 5 1/2 back with 14 to play.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Jason Noderum struggled in the seventh inning. He allowed three of the four batters he faced to reach safely before Peeples was called from the pen.
*Jeremy Deitrick went 0-for-4 and saw his average dip to .231.
*That’s about it. Another all-around well-played game by the Barnstormers.
