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When team leader Ryan Klesko went down with what appeared to be a fairly serious pull of his anterior cruciate ligament, Punxatawney Groundhogs owner/manager Dan Shapiro was admittedly a bit worried about how his team would play without their superstar.Ê
"He's been our biggest bat all year, he's the guy who takes charge on the field, the guy who gets the team ready to play--Ryan has been a huge part of our success this year," Shapiro said after hearing about the degree of the injury.Ê "Without him, I'm not sure where we will find the heart to play."
After today's game, Shapiro was pleasantly surprised--twice.Ê Not only had his team won their 4th straight game without Klesko, but Klesko was back to full health--almost miraculously--just 4 days after he was dealt an injury that Ryan said kept him at "no better than 80-85% of my best."Ê
To sum up the whole situation, let us go back to July 2nd, the first game without Klesko.Ê Billy Ashley was getting his first Hogs start as DH and Jason Giambi was back at first.Ê The Hogs had swept Tampa on the previous day and were looking for the 4-game sweep.Ê This was the 3rd game of the series.
Although Tampa Bay scored the first run, tallying 1 in the top of the first off Rocky Coppinger, Punxatawney erupted for 4 in the bottom of the inning and took the lead, never to look back.Ê Tampa Bay closed to within 1 after scoring twice in the 3rd, but never got any closer.Ê The Hogs scored once in the 5th and 5 more times in the 7th to secure a 10-3 lead.Ê The Mets were able to score 3 in the last inning to make the game 10-6, but the final score was a bit deceiving.Ê
Everyone on the Hogs contributed to the offense--everybody had at least one run and one hit.Ê Jason Giambi and Scott Rolen both homered, combining to drive in half of the Hogs runs.Ê Rocky Coppinger took the win with his first decent outing in weeks.Ê He went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, walked 5, and struck out 3.Ê Scott Ruffcorn threw 2 scoreless innings before Bobby Munoz and Rick Aguilera gave up 2 and 1 runs respectively in the 9th.Ê The win made Coppinger 8-6 and Ruffcorn recorded his 7th hold.
"This first one was crucial," said Jason Giambi.Ê "The guys were worried about what we'd do without Ryan.Ê Me too.Ê But we all stepped up, all helped out, and we won easily."
The next game was far more difficult.Ê This time Jon Lieber was matched against Tampa Bay's Pat Hentgen.Ê All but two Groundhogs got a hit or run with the biggest hit coming from Greg Myers--a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 8th to move the Hogs ahead 6-5 after trailing most of the game.Ê Jason Giambi again homered.Ê In his two games without teammate and friend Ryan Klesko in the lineup, Giambi had stepped up.Ê He was a combined 3-7, had 4 runs, drove in 3, homered twice, and walked twice.Ê Billy Ashley also hit a homer in this game, a solo shot.Ê
Lieber didn't get the win, though he gave up just 1 earned run in 5 2/3 innings.Ê He also gave up 3 unearned runs.Ê He walked just one and struck out 7.Ê Bobby Munoz and Sean Bergman finished up.Ê Munoz went to 3-1 with 2 1/3 innings of 1 run (unearned) scoreless baseball and Sean Bergman got his 3rd save by throwing the 9th.Ê
So after two games without Klesko, it was becoming apparent that Jason Giambi was emerging as a new leader.Ê He homered in both games and tried to fill Ryan's role in the clubhouse.Ê The next day was the July 4th doubleheader.Ê Punxatawney headed to North Spokane to battle the last place Titans in an Independence Day affair.Ê
The first game was basically a laugher, but there were a number of great signs from the Hogs.Ê They scored 10 runs between the 3rd and 6th innings, allowing just 2 in the bottom of the 9th, and won 10-2.Ê
Once again Jason Giambi led the way with help from the rest of the team. The first 4 batters--Rondell White, Tony Batista, Jose Valentin, and Giambi combined to go 9-18, scored 8 of the team's runs, and drove in 9.Ê Scott Rolen was 2-4, scored the other two and drove in the other one.Ê Only Greg Myers didn't have a hit or run.Ê Giambi was 2-4, scored 1, drove in 3, and homered for his 3rd straight game.Ê He was now 5-11, 5 runs, 6 RBI, 3 HR since taking over the 4th spot.Ê
Secondly, Dustin Hermanson, after several shaky starts and almost being replaced by Aguilera in the rotation, got a final start to show he was worth something.Ê This time he didn't buckle under the pressure.Ê In one of the best outings of any Hogs pitcher this year, Hermanson threw 7 scoreless, 2 hit innings for his 7th win.Ê Rick Aguilera relieved him and gave up both Titan runs.Ê
"Guess it makes me look good for letting him have this one last start, doesn't it?Ê Dustin really showed something today--something he showed hints of back in May," Shapiro commented proudly.
Hermanson tended to agree with his boss.Ê "Yeah, I'm think I'm back.Ê My fastball had great speed, the slider was jumping, and my changeup seemed to fool everyone."Ê With the win, his ERA plummeted back from over 6 to 5.34. He will definetly be getting another start next week.Ê
Also, what very few noticed was the Hogs had now won 9 straight, tying their franchises record for a winning streak and approaching the league record of 10 straight.Ê North Spokane had lost 9 in a row, setting a PVBL record and hoping to avoid going to 10.Ê
The second game of the day was not a whole lot closer.Ê The Hogs opened up with 5 runs in the first, gave up 2 in the second but countered with 2 more in the third and held on to win 8-3.Ê The star of the game?Ê Once again, Jason Giambi.Ê He was 3-5, scored once, and drove in 3.Ê He homered yet again--4 games in a row.Ê Without Klesko around, Giambi went 8-16, 6 runs, 9 RBI, 4 HR.Ê Greg Myers also homered, a 3-run blast.Ê And once again, all but two players had a hit or run to contribute.Ê
Mike Hampton got his 8th win in the game with a decent outing.Ê 5 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts.Ê Sean Bergman, Scott Ruffcorn, and Curt Leskanic each threw a scoreless inning in relief to finish up.Ê Bergman was credited with a hold (his 5th), for his work.Ê
The Hogs players were celebrating their 10th straight win in the clubhouse after the game when the door swung open and Ryan Klesko strolled in without even a limp.Ê Everyone was flabbergasted--he had been in terrible shape the last time he had been in the clubhouse.Ê The players embraced him as he joined in the celebration.Ê
"I don't know why.Ê I just woke up this morning and it felt fine, like I never hurt myself at all," Klesko said.Ê "Besides--what does it matter?Ê My boys proved that we don't need me to win.Ê Jason filled my role pretty damn well."Ê Giambi now has 26 homers and 83 RBI.Ê He is just 6 homers and 9 RBI behind Klesko.Ê
With the victories, the Groundhogs are 58-23, a .716 clip.Ê They lead the Mets and the Menace by 22 1/2 games and have a 36 game edge over the Titans.Ê
The Hogs have won 10 straight.Ê If they can beat North Spokane again in their next game, they will break the tie with Deadwood for best winning streak ever.Ê North Spokane has already set the record for longest losing streak and hope to finish it.Ê
Stats and Stuff:
Some people wondered why Hermanson, not Aguilera, was pitching today. "Well, the trade winds haven't been entirely silent here and we are still working on some deals.Ê It made more sense to let Dustin throw this week."
The Groundhogs season is now halfway through.Ê They've played 81 games.Ê 58 of those were wins.Ê With this recent winning streak, they are now 5 1/2 better than the second-best team in the PVBL, the Brooklyn Flaming Skulls. They are 10 better than Springfield, the best DL team.Ê
"We're beating our division, like we were before.Ê My question is once again--can we beat everyone else just as easily?" said Shapiro.Ê "Oh, and Ryan will be playing next game, back at 1B and Jason can DH again.Ê If they both keep playing as well as they have been, I'm sorry for our next few opponents."
Written by Dan Shapiro