5-1 Week by Groundhogs Widens Lead August 15, 1998
Punxatawney, PA (AP) - With two wins over Duluth and a sweep of Sacramento, the Punxatawney
Groundhogs won 5 straight games before losing the final game to Vero Beach
and increased their lead to 4 games over the Springfield Atoms.
"I'm having a weird feeling of deja vu," Hogs owner Dan Shapiro said. "But
I don't mind."
Following are brief recaps and highlights of each game:
Game 1: 6-5 win over Duluth in 10 innings.
Tim Worrell blew a 4-3 9th inning lead only to have his team tie the game at
5 and win the game in the bottom of the 10th, 6-5, while Worrell got the
win. Jose Valentin was the star of the game, going 3-5, scoring 2, driving
in 2, hitting a homerun, and stealing two bases. Marty Cordova went 4-5
with 2 runs and a double. Roberto Kelly also hit a homerun. Bobby Thomas
had a decent start, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings with striking out 8. Dan
Wilson set a team record with 3 passed balls in the game.
Game 2: 3-2 win over Duluth.
Punxatawney won another 1-run game against the Bjork, this time taking the
lead in the bottom of the 8th inning. Scott Rolen hit a 2-run homer earlier
in the game and Roberto Kelly broke up the 2-2 tie with an RBI single to
plate pinch runner John Cangelosi. Rolen also doubled in a 2-3 game. Ken
Hill had another great start, his second excellent outing in as many games
as a Groundhog. He threw 7 2/3 innings, allowing just 2 runs, 1 earned, and
got his 11th victory. Ricky Bottalico threw a perfect final 1 1/3 innings
for his 16th save.
Game 3: 8-1 win over Sacramento.
Jon Lieber nearly became the second Groundhog this year and the 3rd player
ever to throw a no-hitter. In fact, he threw 8 2/3 no-hit innings before
Deion Sanders hit a homerun to break up the no-hitter and shutout just 1 out
away from the end of the game. Lieber than focused in and struck out Butch
Huskey to end the game. Offensive, everyone had a great game. Dave
Martinez went 3-4, Cordova went 2-4, Rolen went 3-3, and Wilson went 2-4.
Wilson and Cordova each hit homers, while Cordova also stole 2 bases.
"It was really disappointing to go that far and not get the no-hitter. 1
out away. But Deion hit a good pitch, I didn't make a mistake. He deserved
the hit," said Lieber.
Game 4: 5-3 win over Sacramento in 14 innings.
Not nearly as easy as the last game, Punxatawney still came away with a
victory. Sacramento scored in the 9th off Bobby Munoz to take a 3-2 lead,
but Punxatawney fought back to tie the game at 3. It would remain tied
until the 14th when the Groundhogs scored twice off Mark Hutton to win the
game. The Hogs squandered 17 hits and left 19 men on base. Ryan Klesko
drove in two runs and Dave Martinez went 3-7, scoring twice. Rocky
Coppinger left after just 2 innings as his blistered finger was acting up.
Scott Ruffcorn, Bobby Munoz, and Mike Hampton threw the next 12 innings,
allowing just 11 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, and striking out 6.
Hampton got the win, throwing 4 scoreless innings to end the game.
Game 5: 6-4 win over Sacramento.
Scott Rolen went 3-4 and Marty Cordova drove in 2 runs with a homer as
Punxatawney went ahead 6-0 after 4 innings and held on to win 6-4. Sean
Bergman struggled through his last few innings but still got the win, his
13th, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. Tim Worrell threw 2 scoreless innings
for his 4th hold and Ricky Bottalico tossed a scoreless 9th inning for his
17th save.
Game 6: 8-5 loss to Vero Beach.
Now having to play Vero Beach again, Punxatawney was unable to win the
opener as they did last time. Marty Cordova had 2 doubles and a single,
Jose Valentin hit a 2 run homer, and Dan Wilson went 2-3 with a 3 RBI homer.
However, the Bums rocked Bobby Thomas for 7 runs in 3 innings of work.
Scott Ruffcorn did a great job in relief, allowing 1 run and 4 hits over the
next 4 innings. Mike Hampton threw a scoreless final inning to finish up.
Stats 'n Stuff
While last time around Punxatawney had two hitters over .300 (Valentin and
Martinez), neither is over .300 now. Valentin has fallen to .297 and
Martinez to .287. However, the team's overall offensive balance has
improved. Both Roberto Kelly and Scott Rolen are over .250 finally, only
Giambi and Dan Wilson remain below.
Ryan Klesko already has broken the 20 homer mark with 25. 4 other
players--Cordova, Batista, Rolen, and Valentin are within 3 homers of the
mark. Dan Wilson is just 5 homers away.
Bobby Thomas has struggled quite a bit more this time around August, but he
is still 6-8 with a 3.64 ERA overall. Ken Hill is now 11-9 with a 3.31 ERA.
Sean Bergman is 13-4 with a 3.23 ERA. Rocky Coppinger is continuing his
amazing year with a 12-3 record 1.50 ERA. Jon Lieber is 6-3 with a 2.34
ERA. Even Mike Hampton has his ERA down below 4.00 with recent good relief
work. He is 5-10 with a 3.99 ERA. Scott Ruffcorn has gotten his ERA down
to 5.85, much better than where it was for most of the season.
Bottalico is currently 2nd in the league with 17 saves. Bergman is ranked
4th with 13 wins. Coppinger is 3rd with a 1.50 ERA and 2nd with a .179
opposing average. However, Curt Schilling is looking like a Cy Young leader
with 13 wins, a 1.35 ERA, and a .170 opposing average.
Bobby Thomas is making a run at the strikeout title. He is just 1 behind
Hideo Nomo for the league lead, while Nomo has thrown nearly 13 more
innings. Thomas has 145 in 155 2/3 innings, only behind Troy Percival in
K/9 with 8.38. Percival has 9.22 in relief work. Jon Lieber is walking
just .91 batters per 9 inning, 2nd best in the league behind Jim Deshaies.
"Its a been a great season overall," said Shapiro. "It seems everyone is on
one of the leaderboards."
The excellent 5-1 week moved Punxatawney 4 ahead of the Atoms who went 2-4
this week. Punxatawney still has a long way ago to reach the point they
were at last month, but Springfield also has quite a bit farther to drop
before they reach the point they were at.
"I guess we just have to forget the other August. It doesn't matter
anymore. And we've managed to start winning again," said Shapiro. "The
only question is, can we handle Vero Beach like we did last time or will
they blow us out?"
