Author Topic: Harrisburg Senators 8/6/06 game report  (Read 913 times)

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CHIP72

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Harrisburg Senators 8/6/06 game report
« Topic Start: August 06, 2006, 08:04:31 PM »
The Senators won their second straight series and concluded a 4-2 homestand with a 6-4 win over the Reading Phillies on City Island.  The long ball was a key in the win, as the Senators hit 4 home runs, which accounted for all but one of their runs.  Harrisburg struck first in the bottom of the 1st, with Kory Casto hitting a solo home run to RF to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.  Reading came right back in the top of the second with a solo home run of its own off of Senators' starter David Maust to tie the game 1-1.  The score remained that way until the bottom of the 4th, when Prentice Redman smacked another solo home run, this one to LF, to make the game 2-1.  The hosts then broke the game open with a 3-run 6th inning.  First, Casto hit his second solo home run to RF to make the score 3-1.  Then, after Josh Whitesell lined a single to LF, Salomon Manriquez hit a shot to left-center that barely cleared the wall and resulted in a 2-run homer, giving the hosts a 5-1 lead.  The R-Phils came back with a run in the top of the 7th, but reliever Juan Ovalles, who came on for Maust earlier in the inning, was able to induce a 2-out liner to 2nd base with the bases loaded to end the threat.  Harrisburg then stretched its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the 7th, mainly on the efforts of Melvin Dorta.  Dorta laced a 1-out single to RF, and then with Dan Dement at the plate, stole 2nd and 3rd base.  Dement did his part, hitting a deep sacrifice fly to right-center to score Dorta.  Reading wasn't done yet though, as they loaded the bases on Ovalles in the top of the 8th with 1 out.  Dan Kolb came on in relief and promptly walked the first batter he faced on 4 pitches, pulling the R-Phils within 6-3.  However, he retired the next two batters (one of the outs was a fine catch against the backstop screen by Manriquez) to keep the game 6-3.  The visitors again scored a single run in the 9th to pull within 6-4 and had the tying run at the plate with 2 outs, but Kolb struck out Reading's Brian Sellier to end the game.

General game notes:

- The biggest key to the game was the Senators' pitchers' ability to get out of jams/the R-Phils' inability to get key hits.  Reading left the bases loaded 3 times (in the 1st, 7th, and 8th innings), brought the go-ahead run to the plate in both the 7th and 8th and tying run to the plate in the 9th, and left 13 men on base for the game.  By contrast, the more efficient Senators left only 5 men on base.

- Unlike some recent Senators games I've attended, the home team was very solid in the field, committing no errors and making a number of fine plays.  Kory Casto made a good charge on a grounder while playing 3rd base (he started the game in LF and moved to 3B in the 8th inning), Frank Diaz made a nice catch on a ball hit to deep right-center, David Maust recovered nicely on a ball hit right at him that he knocked down but couldn't initially find to barely get the runner at 1st base, and Salomon Manriquez made a fine catch on the play mentioned in the game summary.

- Though it wasn't nearly as humid as earlier in the week, the temperature still hit 96 degrees Fahrenheit during the game.  There was a gentle breeze blowing into the infield for part of the game however.

Individual player notes:

Kory Casto - had an excellent game with the bat, going 2 for 3 with 2 solo homers and a walk.  More impressively (and importantly), both of his homers were off lefty Allen Davis.  Casto has had trouble most of the season with LHP, but his stats against LHP have been much better in recent games.  He continues to post a batting average just below .300, an OBP near .400, and a SLG over .500.  In the field, he was okay in LF and made a good play at 3rd base (see above) after moving there late in the game.

Prentice Redman - posted a 2 for 4 day with a solo homer and a single.  He's now hitting .294 and has an .850+ OPS.  Defensively, he was fine in RF, though he was replaced in the later stages of the game by Cristian Guerrero.

Frank Diaz - was 1 for 4 with a single at the plate.  He's now hitting .274 on the season.  In the field, he made a nice catch on one play and played solidly.

Salomon Manriquez - went 1 for 3 with a 2-run homer and a walk, lifting his batting average to .255.  Behind the plate, he had a solid game and made a good catch on a foul pop-up when Reading was mounting a rally in the 8th inning.

Melvin Dorta - posted a 1 for 4 batting line with a single, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored.  He started the game at SS and played briefly at 3rd base before leaving the game late.

Josh Whitesell - went 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 singles and a run scored, lifting his average to .268.  He played a good game with the glove at 1st base, making a number of unspectacular but nice plays before being replaced late in the game.

David Maust - pitched a very effective 6 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks.  He also struck 3 batters.  In picking up the win, he improved his record to 6-9 and lowered his ERA to 4.55.

Dan Kolb - struggled a bit but still picked up his 6th save.  He gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run (as well as allowing an inherited runner to score) in 1 2/3 innings.  He also struck out one batter.  His ERA is now 2.97.

MILB.com box score