Jey Young/ Ball Boy Blog
After a tough loss a night ago, the Dust Devils hosted 80's night at GESA Stadium, and the 1,036 fans in attendance got to witness a chef's kiss of a performance by Angel's #15 prospect, RHP Landon Marceaux took the hill and was LIGHTS OUT.
While the Angels walked up to Nickleback songs against the Boston Red Sox tonight, the Dust Devils were having fun and enjoying the 80s music. The first inning of the game was worked quickly by Marceaux as he got his first K of the night and handed the game over to the offense.
CF Jordyn Adams got on base right away with a walk(BB/base on balls) against Blue Jay's #22 prospect, according to MLB.com, RHP Chad Dallas. The walk was followed by a loud out by 3B Jose Guzman to LF Davis Schneider. More loud contact followed at #3 prospect for the Angels and Dust Devils SS Kyren Paris roped a double down the LF line. 1B Gabe Matthews followed suit as he got on base with BB. Bases loaded with 1-out in the bottom of the 1st as 2B Omsy Gregorio hits a sac-fly to score Adams from 3rd to take a 1-0 lead. The offense didn't stop there as RF D'Shawn Knowles reached on BB, which ended up with a passed ball by Canadians C Andres Sosa, that allowed Paris to score; Dust Devils took the lead and did not look back.
Tonight, home plate umpire Paul Roemer had a generous strike zone that frustrated players and played into both team's pitchers' hands. Marceaux collected two more strikeouts in the bottom of the 2nd, and the Dust Devils' offense was able to get Adams into scoring position. However, Paris ended the inning with a pop-up to LF.
Between the fans at GESA stadium crushing the chorus to Living on a prayer, Mike Peabody made a Sportscenter Top-10 catch, and 3B Jose Guzman made every play that came to him at the hot corner throughout the game. Guzman seemed to make a play nearly every inning to pick up the pitching and help his team continue to work towards a win tonight.
During the 6th inning, the Dust Devils were able to capitalize on a fielding error by Canadians RF Garrett Spain as he dropped a pop-fly that would have ended the inning. However, Dust Devils LF has reached on a BB and then was able to advance to 2B with a successful steal, and then scored on the error and allowed the Dust Devils to take a 3-0 come to an end the 6th.
The Dust Devils chased Canadians SP Dallas after 2 and 2/3 IP as they forced him to work in that short outing for 71 pitches and put him in stressful situations consistently in the first three innings. Things were entirely after this as Canadians RHRP threw four scoreless innings against the Dust Devils and Marceause went his full 7IP, with 7K and only allowed two hits.
Fast-forward to the 8th inning as RHRP Glenn Albanese Jr took the mound looking to H the 3-0. Albanese was jumped on quickly by Canadians 2B Miguel Hiraldo, who is the Blue Jay's #14 prospect, according to MLB.com. Hiraldo hit a solo HR off of Albanese. However, the effort was futile as Albanese got the next three batters out to end the 8th.
The Dust Devils weren't thrilled they lost their 3-run lead, so they took it back as Canadians RHRP Alex Nolan struggled with command and allowed Peabody to be on base with BB. Canadians C Andres Sosa then allowed back-to-back passed balls that allowed Peabody to advance to 3rd. Dust Devils C wasted little time, hitting a sac-fly into LF, and Peabody could score easily on the play. The Dust Devils took the 4-1 lead into the 9th. Albanese was back on, notched a 1-2-3 9th for his first save, and the Dust Devils even the series 1-1.
Two takeaways from tonight's game, the first RF D'Shawn Knowles has shown he can play RF. The guy has a CANNON for arm, he has excellent range, excellent speed, a great ability to track the ball and takes a clear path to each fly ball, and has passed the eye test for me in RF compared to when he was in CF. The bat and play at the plate have also improved with the move to RF. The 2nd for tonight's game is the offense going 0-5 with RISP and having 9 runners LOB. With two tough pitching matchups upcoming, it will be crucial for the Dust Devils to capitalize on each offensive opportunity.
The Dust Devils return for game three as Vineros De Tri-City tomorrow night, 6/9, as the expected pitching matchup will feature Vineros SP Robinson Pina, who carries a 3-3 record with a 3.03ERA going against Canadians RHP Yosver Zulueta who is 0-1 with a 1.75ERA over 25.2IP. Zulueta is Blue Jay's #19 prospect, according to MLB.com. Grab your purple/neon green outfit, grab your friends and family, head down to GESA Stadium and join me as the Dust Devils look to take the series lead at 6:30 pm on 6/9.
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