Punxatawney, PA (AP)--"Well, it went pretty much according to plan," noted
Groundhogs owner Dan Shapiro after the end of the second game. "Bergman
gave us a great start and we won game 1. But Jon [Lieber] went out there,
threw two innings, and shut himself down cause his arm hurt. Unfortunately,
our bullpen couldn't hold the Atoms. So we each won a game, we're still
ahead."
The first game, an 8-1 thrashing of the Atoms, was an eruption of offense
the for the Groundhogs. They beat up Springfield starter Ken Hill for 5
runs in the first 3 innings and then scored another 3 off reliever Kevin
Tapani before the game was over.
Most of the Hogs offense came from the middle of the order. Valentin,
Klesko, Giambi, and Batista, the 3-6 hitters, combined for 10 of the teams
14 hits, scoring and driving in 6, and hittind 3 homers. Robbie Kelly and
Rick Wilkins also each homered, while Wilkins also hit a double.
Springfield only managed 4 hits of the Hogs pitching. Cecil Fielder's
double, later driven in by ex-Groundhog Norberto Martin, account for their
only run. Sean Bergman was the pitcher who crippled the solid Springfield
offense.
"I've been tellin' Shapiro to let me start since last August. I showed him
I could do it in the playoffs, and showed him again today," the 25 year old
righty said. Bergman did not lie--he held Springfield to 4 hits and 1 run
over 6 innings while walking 1 and striking out 6. He was relieved by Curly
Karkovice who tossed 3 scoreless innings to finish up, allowing just 1
baserunner, a walk, while striking out 3.
"Both of them were great today. Sean is going to stay in the rotation until
Rocky is healthy and Curly might get a start next week if Jon is still
hurting. I don't want to test his arm anymore," said Shapiro.
It was in game 2 that Lieber tried to pitch. Though he tossed 2 1/3
scoreless inning, giving up only 1 hit and striking out 3, he came up
wincing after a big curve to Brito. "I'm not risking his health over one
game," Shapiro said in support of his ace.
"Yeah, it was stupid," Lieber told a reporter. "But I thought I was strong
enough to throw today. My arm felt great in practice yesterday. I pushed
too hard too fast and I paid the price."
His relievers did not fare quite a well. Tim Worrell didn't get out of the
3rd inning unharmed--he allowed 2 runs which tied the score at 2. Dustin
Hermanson came in to pitch next. Unfortuantely, Dustin was not on. He did
throw 5 1/3 innings, but gave up 9 runs on 11 hits during that time. Henry
Neale finished up, striking out the last two batters, but the damage was
done, and Springfield won 11-5.
Scott Rolen was the only Hog to have a solid offensive day in this game,
going 2-3 with a homer. Still, he has struggled thus far and is not hitting
nearly as well as last year. In fact, today's homer was his only of the
season so far and he has driven in just 5 runs while scoring only 6.
"I've told the guys I'm sorry for how I've played. I've told coach. I
don't know whats wrong. They tell me that its allright, my defense has been
solid, the hitting will come around, but I don't know," a worried Rolen
said. "I spend so much time in the cages now taking extra BP. I work with
Mark (Fidyrich, the pitching coach) and Bernie (Carbo, the batting coach) on
what I'm doing wrong. They can't tell me. From now on, I'm just going up
there with a see-ball hit-ball mentality. No more thinking about my stride
length or if I'm getting extended."
While Rolen has struggled so far, today was a helpful for the batting stats
for the middle of the Hogs order. Jose Valentin is now batting .316 with 5
homers and 18 RBI, Klesko is at .307, 8 homers, 17 RBI, and Giambi at .289,
6 homers, 12 RBI. Catcher Rick Wilkins has been a big contributor from the
bottom of the order. He is hitting a solid .299 with 7 doubles, 3 homers,
and 14 runs created.
"I came in here with big expectations. This team hasn't had a real catcher
since Mike Stanley last season. No offense to Greg Myers, who is having a
solid season for the Bud Frogs. But Shapiro brought me in here to play the
role of a solid defensive catcher with a solid bat," Wilkins said.
Monday is the start of another crucial series for Punxatawney. They only
play one game, but that game is at Houston.
"We can't afford to lose a game against the Hellraisers," Shapiro said.
"Springfield won't lose to Tampa Bay, so if we want to hold first, we can't
lose to Houston. And no I don't know who will pitch."
