St. Louis (MO)- The Hartford Whalers snapped a season-high 5-game losing
streak on the road today with a 5-3 win over the New Diggens Budweiser Frogs.
Hartford had won only 2 of its previous ten during the slide and had slipped to
10 games back of McCoy Division leader, Edmonton. With an Edmonton loss, the
Whalers find themselves statistically still in the race at 9 games back. A
resurgence is unlikely, however. The Deadwood Outlaws have been simply
explosive of late, scoring 16 runs today alone.
Rookie Brian Rose took the mound for Hartford and, as he had before, helped
stop the bleeding. Rose went 6 innings, allowing only 1 earned run on 2 hits
and 2 walks, before pulling himself with a minor muscle pull in his arm. Roy
Hoffman (1-1) picked up the win as the Whalers scored 3 in the 7th off of New
Diggens reliever Mark Jackson (1-3). New Diggens starter Alan (?) Watson was
pulled after only 2 innings of superb work, suffering from a strained rotator
cuff. Early reports have indicated that Watson will not need surgery but is
likely to miss his next start. Watson had not allowed a baserunner through 2
solid innings of work. He's currently listed as day-to-day, as is Rose.
Rookie 2B Adam Riggs' 9th inning homer off of Jackson capped a Hartford
offensive which featured Socks Byrne, Jason Kendall, Reggie Sanders and Brian
McRae each recording multiple hits. This was the first game of the "new"
lineup Manager Jeremy Chrabascz was to employ. Of the move and the game,
Chrabascz said, "Well, he (Rose) did it again. He stopped another losing
streak for us. He has a bright future with us--no question. It's just
unfortunate he pulled a muscle. We'll be watching him closely. As far as the
lineup changes, it seems to have paid off. I think Reggie (Sanders) and Matt
(Williams) will enjoy being higher up in the order and, in fact, Reggie
wasted no time, did he? 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI is a decent day in
my book. Having Riggs further down in the lineup helps a great deal. Opposing
clubs can't really (expletive) around with us anymore. Abbott and Riggs may be
#8 and #9 but they can hit. And as long as Socks (Byrne) continues to get on
base and score runs, he'll be our leadoff guy for years to come." Cal Eldred
picked up his first save on the year, recording the final out. 3B Matt
Williams' 2 RBI turned out to be the difference in the game and Williams
continue to lead the club in run production, being the only player with over 50
RBI. Williams simply said the following after the game, "We played well today.
We executed offensively and defensively but, most importantly, we played well
together as a team. That's something that's been sorely lacking around here
since Junior and Sheff left town." When asked about suddenly being one of the
"aging veterans" on the club, Williams responded, "I don't think I'm eligible
for social security yet, am I?"
Tradewinds
None. Hartford appears content to play with what it's got and hold on long
enough to fight for a wildcard spot. The Whalers are quite anxious to get this
season over with, it seems sometimes. With 8 picks in the first two rounds of
the offseason free agent draft they certainly will be making a lot of moves.
It would seem certain minor leaguers' days are numbered whether they know it or
not.
