|
When Renegades starter Alex Cobb walked off the mound in the top of the sixth on July 27, with his team leading by three runs, the game seemed to be safely in Hudson Valley’s possession.
But the Lowell Spinners came back, scoring all five of their runs against the ‘Gades bullpen. The Renegades responded by producing their trademark so far this season – an unsuccessful but gutsy late-game comeback. Going into the bottom of the ninth, trailing 5-4, the Renegades loaded the bases with two outs, only to see their best hitter, Maiko Loyola, fly out to center to end the game.
“We battled back,” said Renegades manager Matt Quatraro. “We had opportunities but we didn’t execute.”
The Renegades struck first, scoring two runs in the second inning on a double by third basemen Shawn Williams that scored Angel Fermin and Steve Vote. Then, in the fourth, Vote, who finished 3-for-4, connected for a one-out home run to give Hudson Valley a 3-0 lead.
That seemed to be enough for Cobb. Employing a low-90s fastball and an effective breaking ball, Cobb dominated the Spinners’ offense in a six-inning shutout performance.
The Spinners managed just four hits against Cobb (3-2 2.57 ERA) who picked up a no-decision, but came alive against Travis Barnett, who relived Cobb to start the seventh.
The first two batters to face Barnett singled. Catcher Ty Weeden followed with a three-run homer over the center field wall to tie the game at 3-3.
Claudio Rodriguez, who came on to pitch the eighth for the Renegades, did not fare much better. He surrendered a leadoff triple to Jorge Jimenez. The next batter hit a routine groundball that shortstop Shawn O’Malley misplayed and Jimenez scored on the error to put the Spinners up 4-3.
After a 23-minute rain delay, the Spinners scored another run off Rodriguez in the ninth on three bloop hits into the outfield to extend their lead to 5-3.
The Renegades, in true fashion, refused to surrender. Those fans who braved the rain to stay for the bottom of the ninth were treated to a half-inning of baseball as exciting as the fireworks that followed it.
Fermin led off against reliever Adam Mills with a single, and advanced to third two batters later on a single by Mike McCormick. A single by Williams, who finished 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, scored Fermin to make it a 5-4 ballgame. After Wrigley flied out, O’Malley made up for his error the previous inning by singling to load the bases.
That brought the Renegades’ best hitter to the plate, outfielder Maiko Loyola, who ranks fifth in the league with a .345 batting average. With two outs and the bases loaded, Loyola worked a full count. Then, seeing a pitch he liked, Loyola sent a hard line drive into center field, bringing the crowd to its feet. The ball was hit well but right at center fielder Rafael Cabreja, who caught it to end the game.
“It’s tough. We wanted to win that game. It’s never fun to lose one-run games,” said Vote. “They did a good job of putting runs up late.”
Quatraro said he was proud that the Renegades played hard the full nine innings and didn’t lose heart after surrendering their lead. “The fact that they battled to the end was good,” said Quatraro. “Guys had good at-bats all game.”
Cobb’s six-inning, four-hit performance was another bright spot, said Quatraro. “We have to build on the positives,” said Quatraro. “That was his best outing of the year.” Quatraro said he removed Cobb after six innings because of his pitch count. Rodriguez (0-1 5.87 ERA) took the loss, allowing two runs in the final two innings.
The Renegades rebounded on Saturday, July 28, to win a close 3-2 contest in the second game of the series. Jason Ragan (5-3 1.90 ERA) pitched a 7-and-one-third inning, two-hit, no run masterpiece. Fermin, Williams and O’Malley provided the Renegades offense, with each player going 1-for-3 with a run batted in to give the Renegades a much-needed win after the difficult loss the previous night.
Hoping to take the series on Sunday, July 29, the Renegades were thwarted by a robust Spinners offense that beat up starter Doug Echeverria (1- 6) for six runs in 4–and-a-third innings. The Spinners went on to win the game by a score of 11-5. Loyola, who went 2-for-5, and Henry Wrigley, who finished 3-for-4, drove in a combined four runs for the Renegades.
The loss put the Renegades at 16-21, good for last place in the McNamara division. Hudson Valley hits the road this week for series against the Vermont Lake Monsters and the Tri-City Valley Cats.
