|
|
The Punxatawney Groundhogs lost for just the 23rd time today, getting soundly beaten by the Milwaukee Menace by a score of 5-0. However, the goose egg in the Groundhogs box score was not a surprise when compared to other teams on this day.
Washington edged Larimer 1-0 in 12 innings, Tampa Bay topped North Spokane 1-0, Brooklyn shut out Austin 3-0, and with this 5-0 Menace win, that made 4 shutouts in one day. There were also a number of extra inning affairs. Duluth won 6-5 over Springfield in 10, Washington and Larimer went 12 frames, Motor City topped New Diggens in 10, Galena needed 10 to beat Cockeysville, and Deadwood fell to Hartford in 10. This was possibly the day of the closest games in the brief history of the league. Perhaps a prevailing wind blowing in everywhere caused it.
However, the similar problems of other teams didn't take away from the pain of the Punxatawney loss. Although it meant little in the standings, the Hogs were hoping to sweep the Menace in their first series in Milwaukee. Two of the top arms in the league faced eachother and Joey Hamilton was far better than Mike Hampton. Hampton lasted just 3 innings and gave up 3 runs for his first loss since joining Punxatawney.
The usually potent Hogs offense sputtered in this game, with their 8 hits and 2 walks not enough to push even one run across. Nobody had an extra base hit, and Jason Giambi's 3 singles were the best performance on the team. Roberto Kelly had a pair of base hits and Tony Batista, Jose Valentin, and Ryan Klesko each had one hit. But the two double plays squelched any hope of a rally in this game.
"I'll take some of the blame for this one," said leadoff hitter Rondell White. "After all those games with the guys counting on me to get the team going, I just couldn't touch Hamilton today."
Punxatawney's pitching was only fair in this game. Mike Hampton was rocked in his 3 innings of work, giving up 3 runs, 3 hits, and 3 walks. Rick Aguilera relieved him and pitched strongly once again, going 3 innings and giving up just one run on 3 hits and 1 walk. Sean Bergman tossed the final 2 frames, giving up one more run.
Joey Hamilton was masterful in his pitching for the Menace and his offense produced more than enough support for him. Matt Williams led the way with a 3-4, 3 RBI game. Hamilton tossed 8 innings of 8 hit, 2 walk, and no run ball. Against the Hogs, that's a pretty tough task. Justin Thompson threw a scoreless 9th to close it out.
When the game was over, the Hogs quickly hustled into the clubhouse. They had little time to talk to reporters as they had to catch a flight back to Punxatawney shortly. Team owner and manager Dan Shapiro had a brief remark for the anxious reporters: "It's just one loss and we can afford to lose quite a few. Mike [Hampton] is fine, he just wasn't on today and Rick [Aguilera] has impressed me recently. I'm trying to get him some more work. We'll show up tommorow against the Titans, don't worry."
Written by Dan Shapiro