Washington Wins Four In A Row With New Cast June 20, 2000
(AP) WASHINGTON--The Sea Dogs may have subtracted one of the PVBL's most
graceful players, but they haven't missed a step.
Washington defeated the Duluth 5-4 on a ninth-inning Troy O'Leary homer,
and then went 19 innings to defeat them 2-0 in a record-breaking
performance.
Washington trailed 4-3 going into the ninth inning, mostly because of an
ineffective John Burkett start. Burkett, one of the year's biggest
surprises to this point, gave up four runs in five plus innings and struck
out only one.
Burkett blamed his lack of command.
"I didn't have my pitches exactly where I wanted them today, and I let a
couple get away from me," Burkett said. "But I won't let a start like
this bother me."
However, Troy O'Leary, given a rare at-bat against a lefthander, homered
into the left-field bleachers to iwin the ballgame.
"I can hit a fastball from anyone," O'Leary said. "The truth is, I'm not
as much of a platoon player as everyone makes me out to be."
Nealy Becker, who blew a save four days ago, got the win for the Sea Dogs,
pitching a perfect ninth.
Washington was unable to rest easy after the start, or even rest at all.
The second half of the doubleheader was equally unnerving, as Duluth
starter Jeff Hallony and Washington starter Shawn Estes pitched to a
scoreless tie in regulation.
"That may be the best pitching matchup I've seen all year," Washington
manager Aaron Weiner said. "Two premier guys going head-to-head for
almost 20 innings of scoreless ball betwen them is incredible."
However, Washington and Duluth spent nine more innings scoreless.
Washington closer John Wetteland, who accounted for seven of them
himself, said it was strange being in the game so long.
"I'm thinking of joining the rotation," Wetteland joked. "No, seriously,
Aaron just kept sending me out there, since I just kept mowing them down.
It's the first time I've been involved in back-to-back shutouts in one
game."
Washington finally got the win on a two-run homer by Jeff King in the
bottom of the 19th inning off Duluth's closer, Josh Ludolph.
"It's the first time I've ever one two games with one swing of the bat,"
King said with a smile. "Seriously, though, it was a great thrill to be
in that situation."
Washington set a team record and an unconfirmed PVBL record for pitching
the longest shutout in team history. The previous long was thirteen
innings by Chuck Finley and Bobby Ayala.
It was thought that the Sea Dogs would drop a notch after losing Barry
Larkin, but Washington has five wins in six games since the deal and Troy
O'Leary has had eight hits in four games since the deal batting in
Larkin's #5 lineup position.
"We never imagined that we missed a beat without Barry," Weiner said.
"We'll miss him, but we've got a productive offense."
Washington moved to 43-25 on the year, five games back of the Phoenix Gila
Monsters and second in the Defiant League.
One note:
Washington got back Alex Fernandez today from the DL, and is expecting
Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz back from the DL in under two weeks.
The frightening thing for the Sea Dogs is the logjam that will arise with
their return.
Other than Sacramento, who plays in the PVBL's best pitcher's park, there
isn't a single team in the league that can stand up to Washington's 2.74
ERA, which has been achieved by a full team effort.
However, because of this fact, WAshington finds themsevles with seven
starters to fill five rotation spots, and it is thought that the Sea Dogs
will movea pitcher in order to relieve the pressures of the dilemma.
"I don't think there's a team in the league with as deep a pitching staff
as we have," GM Aaron Weiner said. "We've filled our rotation with
quality pitchers from top to bottom."
Washington has received potential Cy Young efforts from several members of
their staff, including Ben McDonald, Shawn Estes, and Alex Fernandez.
This was to be somewhat expected, as they were recently rated in the top
40 major-league pitchers.
However, they have also received high-quality performance from John
Burkett, with a 3.16 ERA, and Hideki Irabu, with a 3.86 ERA. Both Burkett
and Irabu have seven wins, and both are difficult to replace.
Recently, however, a new acquisition has added to the Sea Dogs' success.
Rick Reed, acquired for minor-leaguer Mike Dashiell, has shown the stuff
that many predicteed for him when he was drafted as a free-agent. Reed,
in two Washington starts, has allowed just one run in 15 innings pitched.
"I hated being in Deadwood, and hated being in the bullpen worse," Reed
said. "That bandbox is the worst place for a pitcher in the major
leagues."
Washington is already feeling a crunch and has had to move Irabu to the
bullpen to accomodate for Alex Fernandez's return. But while this may be
a vote of confidence for Reed, Leefenhaufenhauz's return will most likely
move Reed from the rotation.
"We're not sure what we're going to do yet," Weiner said. "We'd like to
move one of our starters for something, preferably offense, but we're open
to a lot of possibilities."
Weiner said if they haven't made a deal by the time Leefenhaufenhauz
returns, either John Burkett or Rick Reed will occupy the #5 spot in the
rotation, depending on their performance.
"If Burkett continues to struggle and Reed continues to pitch like an
All-Star, the choice isn't hard," Weiner said. "However, they're both
quality pitchers, and I'd hate to make a rash decision on either."
