It took nearly 4 months, but after today's doubleheader, the Punxatawney
Groundhogs grabbed a share of the lead for the first time since early in the
season. With back to back victories against division leading Houston, their
9th and 10th in a row overall, and 5th and 6th in a row against Houston, the
Hogs pulled into a tie with the Hellraisers.
They began the day by taking the first lead on Houston, only to watch the
Hellraisers come back to tie the game at 2-2 after the 4th inning. However,
the Hogs scored once in the 5th and piled on 5 more runs in the 7th and 8th,
holding on to win 8-2.
Surprisingly, Groundhogs starter Rocky Coppinger struggled greatly in this
game, lasting only 4 innings. He walked 6 men and gave up 2 hits and 2
runs.
"It wasn't that they were hitting Rocky real well," said Shapiro, "but
rather that he was nowhere near the strike zone. I couldn't afford to leave
him in there to walk guys in a crucial game."
Henry Neale relieved hm with one of his best performances of the season.
Neale threw 3 scoreless innings, striking out 5 men and allowing just 2 hits
before turning it over to Tim Worrell and Dustin Hermanson, who finished the
game out. Neale recorded his 3rd win. The loss went to Houston's Pat
Hentgen, as he allowed 6 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings of work. Jeff Juden
allowed 2 runs in relief.
Offensively, three players led the way for the Hogs. Young superstars Tony
Batista and Scott Rolen were a combined 5-9 with 3 runs and 7 RBI. Rolen
homered twice. Alex Ochoa also had 3 hits in the 9th spot of the order,
scoring twice. Jason Giambi had only one hit, but it was his 15th homer of
the year.
"We all step up in different games," said Rolen. "Today it was my turn."
The second game was far closer, the first game in nearly two weeks in which
the Hogs were held below 8 runs. It didn't open that way, as Punxatawney
roughed up Houston starter Mariano Rivera for three early runs. Ryan Klesko
blasted a homerun, driving in Jose Valentin in the first. Dan Wilson
continued his great season, hit a solo shot in the second.
However, Rivera settled down and held the Hogs scoreless for the rest of his
game. Jon Lieber was a bit better, however, holding Houston scoreless in
his first 5 innings of work. With a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the
6th, Punxatawney looked to win their 10th straight and take a tie into the
final stretch of the year. But Houston fought back, scoring once when Mike
Piazza singled in Bernard Gilkey, and again when Edgar Renteria hit a solo
homerun.
After Heine Phillips threw a scoreless 8th for the Hellraisers, it was up to
Hogs reliever Bobby Munoz to keep the score at 3-2. He was less than
spectacular, allowing 3 hits, but two timely strikeouts got the reliever out
of a dangerous jam. Punxatawney was once again unable to score in the 9th,
but sure-handed closer Ricky Bottalico tossed a solid 9th, walking one and
striking out one, as he recorded only his 9th save. However, it was one of
his most important all year.
"I haven't gotten a lot of chances to close, so I'm making the most of the
ones I do get," said Bottalico.
Now, because of a scheduling quirk, the two teams will not play on Wednesday
or Thursday, resuming the series on Friday. Each team has 10 games left,
and they go into this final stretch tied. They still have identical
schedules, with 4 games against eachother and 3 against Tampa Bay and
Springfield each.
The final game of the series will pit Punxatawney's Sean Bergman against
Houston's Cal Eldred. The winner of this game will take the division lead
into the final 3 series.
STATS 'N STUFF
On the injury wire, team doctors are expecting Juan Guzman to be back in
time for the playoffs, if needed. Scott Ruffcorn, however, may not be back
until the beginning of the next season.
Finally, best of luck to everyone left in playoff races. The Hogs are
hiring a variety of security guards and utilizing the defense system they
installed earlier in the year (in response to the Anchorage riots) to ensure
the team's safety if they should have to play Binghamton in the playoffs.
It seems the only exciting races left are in the Riker and the EL wildcard!
