Skip to main content

BlueClaws Roll Into SAL Championship Round


The first round of the South Atlantic League playoffs was perfect for the BlueClaws. A win on the road Wednesday put the 'Claws in position to clinch a trip to the championship series with a win on Friday night against the White Sox affiliated Kannapolis Intimidators. And it didn't take long for the BlueClaws to convince the small rain-dwindled crowd that Friday would be the night.

The scoring began in the first inning when DH Sebastian Valle singled home catcher Travis D'Arnaud. This began the small FirstEnergy Park crowd on a full night of yelling, celebrating and rally towel waving. The Park seemed about 1/4 full most of the night, but the volume of their cheers sounded like the place was at capacity.

Lakewood continued scoring in each of the next three innings. In the second inning, left fielder D'Arby Myers plated shortstop Troy Hanzawa with a double before Travis D'Arnaud smashed a big two-bagger that scored pro ball's stolen base leader Anthony Gose. In the third inning, Hanzawa scored Valle on a fielders choice. And in the fourth, RBI doubles by Harold Garcia and Jim Murphy each had RBI doubles. This put the BlueClaws up 6-0 and with starting pitcher Trevor May dominating the Kannapolis offense, there was no Intimidating going on.

May surrendered singles to the first two batters of the game, then got the next 18 outs without allowing another hit, giving up just 3 walks the rest of the way. May, who will turn 20 years old in less than two weeks, continues to show why a lot of people around the organization and in the media consider May a big prospect on the rise. He struck out 8 Kannapolis batters and extended his streak of great starts with Lakewood. May has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his last six starts, and his ERA over that span is 0.87, with 37 strikeouts in 31 innings. Since joining the BlueClaws in mid-June, SAL opponents batted just .211 against May in the regular season.

"Having runs scored early was huge and I was glad I could throw with the lead and throw good", May said after the game.

Trevor May mowing down the Intimidators

Early success and pitching dominance aside, the BlueClaws weren't done. With Garcia and D'Arnaud on base in the sixth inning, 19 year old Sabastian Valle, who is 8-for-23 (.348 avg) since returning to Lakewood from a demotion to Williamsport earlier this season, slammed a three run homerun to lock in what was already a sure victory, based on the confidence level of the BlueClaws players from the start of this game.

All that was left was for Jacob Diekman, Ryan Bergh and Freddy Ballestas to each get three outs in relief. They each did so. Combined, Diekman, Bergh and Ballestas allowed one runner, but zero hope to the Kannapolis team that was destined for a quick exit from the playoffs.

Lakewood manager, and former Phillie, Dusty Wathan spoke after the game. "It’s a special team,” Wathan said. "When there’s something on the line it seems they all step up. One through nine everybody contributed tonight. We got on them and didn’t let them have a chance to get back in the ball game."

It was one of those post season games that Phillies phans loved so much last year...A game with so much on the line, where phans who have waited a long time to see a real winner simply knew their team would win. The vibe with the BlueClaws is much like the 2008 World Series winning Phillies. It's a roster of guys who love their manager, are appreciative of their spots, share all the credit, have fun and work their hardest. Best wishes going forward to the 2009 Lakewood BlueClaws.

-----------------------------

All unused tickets for Friday night's rain soaked clincher and Saturday's game 3 that was not played can be exchanged for SAL Championship Round tickets for Monday and Tuesday. Exchanges are available at the BlueClaws box office. No tickets yet? Come on out and support your future big league Phillies! Click here to get your tickets for the SAL Championship.

Photos by Dave Schofield.

Hey, follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

OBC said…
Go, Blueclaws!!!!!
Anonymous said…
Congrats Blue Claws! Keep up the winning!!!

NN

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

Series Preview: Braves @ Phillies 5/7-5/9

The Braves make their first visit to Philadelphia this weekend, as the Braves (12-16) will face the Phillies (17-11) in a 3-game series. The series opener will see the 2nd meeting of Derek Lowe and Jamie Moyer this season. The first match up saw Moyer come out on top, when he pitched 6 shut out innings in Atlanta. That win clinched the series victory for the Phils. Off to a good start after winning that series opener against the Phils, the Braves have lost 11 of 15 games since then. The Braves won 5 of the 9 games against the Phils at Citizens Bank Park last season. Atlanta is currently in last place, 5 games behind the division leading Phillies. Read ahead for pitching match ups and other key stats from this series. Friday, 7:05pm. Derek Lowe (4-2, 5.81 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (3-2, 5.70 ERA). Lowe is 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA in five career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Lowe is 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 15 career games against Philadelphia. Raul Ibanez is 2-for-28 (.071 avg) in his career again...