NINE TAKE TIGHT HAWK SERIES 3-1
Bullpen Shines
Nine ace Carlos Valle set the stage for a YS9 series victory by throwing seven dominating innings against the Hawks. Lucas McNeill and Abdeljilill Sediki provided all the offense with a pair of solo homers, and the Nine took the first game of this key road series by a score of 2-1. They followed with another 1-run victory, this time 5-4 in a game started by Luis Colon, and finished by brilliant bullpen work from rookie Tiernan O’Macken and Timofei Bakitski.
Omaha struck back, greeting ex-Hawk Adam Barnard rudely by taking game thee in what turned out to be another tight 1-run margin. “I wanted to do well here,” Barnard said after the loss. Reliever Jose Sanchez posted a scoreless two and a third innings of relief in the losing effort, though.
Ernesto Ramos continued his dominating April on get-away day, going seven innings and allowing only a single run on a solo homer. Bakitski and Curt Phillips finished the game, holding the Hawks scoreless the rest of the way, and the Nine won again, this time 3-1.
Combined over the series, the Nine bullpen threw eleven and a third scoreless innings.
Manager Mentions: “I have a lot of confidence in the guys down in the pen,” Bill Inkster said. “It really is a great relief to have guys like we’ve got. I can just throw them out there in waves and not worry too much.”
Fan Blasts: Adam Barnard sucks. We want Pineda!
Next Stop for the Nine Train: Back home for three against Twin Cities.
Starter PQS:
| Game | 6+ IP | H < IP | 5K | 3K => BB | 0 HR | Total PQS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valle | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Colon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Barnard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Ramos | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Off Topic
9-Notes:
- Shortstop Luis Pena continues to dazzle in his debut, finishing the series with three hits to rais his average to .394. Combined with acrobatic defensive feats, and you’ve got an opening month that peobably is about everything he could have dreamed about.
- Newly recalled outfielder Andy McKinney celebrated with a 3-3 day in game three of the series.
- Dong-po Thum’s 17 RBI leads the team…and he’s hitting out of the leadoff slot. SO much for lineup construction.