The Harrisburg Senators recent struggles continued tonight as they lost their sixth straight game, falling 5-2 to Erie on City Island. The loss dropped the Senators overall record to 15-14 and it also marked the first time they've lost back-to-back home games all season. Erie jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on a solo home run by Kelly Hunt off of eventual losing pitcher David Maust, but the Senators tied the game in the bottom of the 4th on a Kory Casto home run to right-center. The game was decided in the 6th inning, when the Seawolves plated 4 runs. The big blow was a 3-run homer by Kody Kirkland off of Maust, which came immediately after Maust intentionally walked Kurt Airoso (who as a side note has seemingly played for Erie forever). Harrisburg used the exact same tactic earlier in the game, and it worked for the Senators as Kirkland struck out and Erie failed to score in that inning. Obviously the Senators weren't so lucky in the top of the 6th inning. Harrisburg did strike back for a run in the bottom half of the 6th inning, using a Frank Diaz walk, a Salomon Manriquez single on a full count that moved Diaz to 3rd base, and a sacrifice fly by Josh Whitesell to pull within 3 runs. The Senators' relievers, Beltran Perez and Roy Corcoran, pitched 3 impressive innings (featuring 8 strikeouts) to give Harrisburg a chance, but unfortunately the Senators' offense couldn't deliver. Their best chance came in the bottom of the 9th after they loaded the bases with one out, but both Dan Dement and Alex Escobar struck out to end the threat and the game.
General game notes:
- The Senators left 10 runners on base during the game, something that has been a problem in recent games. They outhit Erie 7-4 and drew an equal number of walks (4) as the Seawolves.
- The umpiring was shaky again tonight. The home plate umpire had an inconsistent strike zone; in the 9th inning the Senators' Josh Whitesell argued with the umpire after getting called out on strikes and nearly got thrown out. Even more notably, the 1st base umpire called a ball hit down the line in the 7th inning by an Erie player foul even though it clearly appeared to be fair. Erie 1st base coach Pete Incaviglia argued strenously about the call to no avail. (FWIW, that Erie batter later walked and was the only baserunner allowed by Harrisburg relievers in 3 innings of work.)
- Erie made some nice plays in the field to rob the Senators of some potential hits. The Seawolves' shortstop, Tony Giarratano, was particularly impressive.
Individual Harrisburg Senators player notes:
Kory Casto - went 1 for 3 with a walk and that aforementioned solo home run. He struck out in his other 2 plate appearances, though it should be noted the umpire made what I thought was a bad call on the third strike during the latter strikeout. Casto also had a nice takeout slide at 2nd base to break up a potential double play. Casto currently is hitting .286 and has .410/.464/.874 OBP/SLG numbers. He made no plays of note, either positive or negative, at 3rd base.
Frank Diaz - was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored and 1 strikeout. He wasn't particularly impressive in his 3 at-bats where he put the ball in play. Diaz again looked smooth in center field, making a nice catch on a reasonably difficult play he made look easy. Diaz is now hitting .330 and has .363/.462/.825 OBP/SLG numbers.
Salomon Manriquez - enjoyed a 2 for 4 night (both singles) at the plate. He didn't enjoy himself quite as much behind the plate, allowing 2 stolen bases on 2 attempts, and making a throwing error on one stolen base that allowed the runner to reach 3rd base early in the pivotal 6th inning. (His error ultimately didn't directly impact the Erie scoring in that inning however). Manriquez is now hitting .329 and enjoys .368/.486/.854 OBP/SLG splits.
Robert Fick - went 2 for 4 with 2 singles and a walk as part of his continuing rehab assignment. He also struck out once. One of Fick's singles was infield dribbler that the Erie pitcher failed to field on a tough play. Fick played 1st base in the field tonight.
Alex Escobar - the Senators' best hitter so far this year had a forgettable night at the plate, going 0 for 5 at the plate and striking out looking with the bases loaded to end the game.
David Maust - pitched 6 innings, giving up 5 runs (all earned) on only 4 hits and 4 walks (2 intentional). The long ball hurt Maust as Erie's 2 home runs accounted for 4 of their 5 runs. Maust's control also got him in trouble at times, though his wildness only burned him a little in the 6th inning.
Roy Corcoran - pitched a perfect 9th inning, striking out the side. Corcoran still hasn't given up an earned run this season (though he does have a loss after giving up a grand slam after a Senators error).
MILB.com box score
