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The Vero Beach Bums beat the Spokane Paladins for the fourth consecutive game, extending their winning streak to 6 and keeping first place in the Picard Division. The Bums won 14-5 in another convincing victory. "Yee-hah, six straight," crowed Vero Beach CEO J. Lee Gohlke after the game, sporting a cigar and a gin and tonic. "Darn Binghamton and their pitching keeping up with us, though." [The Binghamton Mets are only half a game out of first place.]
The biggest story in this game was Jeff King. The Bums' first baseman went 3 for 5, including a home run. He also batted in 5 runs, scored 3 times, and stole 3 bases, the most by a Bum in one game this season. He is perfect in nine stolen base attempts so far. King improved his BA to a team-leading .397, good enough for 8th best in the DL. "I'm just glad I can contribute to the team and help us win games," said King. " I don't care about individual stats, I just want to get to the playoffs."
The Bums in general lead all teams in the PVBL with a .341 average. Only Spokane has scored more runs, but they are now a full five games behind Vero Beach. Vero has five players hitting .368 or better, and eight players hitting above .300. The Bums also have the third-best ERA (4.57) in a pitching-weak DL.
Pitching was again adequate for the Bums in the win over Spokane. Kevin Ritz threw another decent seven innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. The Bums got all the run support they needed in the third and fourth innings against Jeff McDonald and Darren Oliver of the Paladins. "It's nice to go out there and know that your team is going to support you," said Ritz, who is 4-1 on the year. Billy Wagner, Dave Weathers, Mark Guthrie, and Dennis Springer mopped up for Ritz.
The Bums head north to Duluth next for a four-game series which will almost certainly raise some pitchers' ERAs.
Written by Jason Gohlke