5/16/2008: Laredo, TX – A little better week this week for the Calzones, though after four straight wins the week ended on a downer with a sweep at the hands of West Virginia.  On the bright side, despite a 4-3 record for the week the Calzones reclaimed a piece of first place in the highly competitive Dixie Division.  One bright note was an offense that scored 6 or more runs in 5 of the 7 games this week, but the pitching didn't quite live up to it's end of the bargain, coming up short in a pair of one run losses.

Thursday May 8.  A sellout crowd was treated to Carlos Aquino's first three-hit game of his career and his first multiple RBI game since hitting a 3-run homer on the second day of the season.  Aquino would double twice, hit a two run homer and score twice while going 3-for-4.  Ramon Ornelas celebrated his return to the rotation with 8 solid innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.  All three runs off Ornelas scored on solo home runs.  San Antonio 6, Arlington 4.

Friday May 9.  Kirby Gibson rebounded from his worst start of the season with one of his best outings yet in picking up his 6th win.  He would pitch 7.1 scoreless innings, scattering a pair of harmless doubles, walking one and striking out 9.  Jorge Gallegos, working from the bullpen, pitched 1.2 innings of hitless ball to complete the shutout.  Michael Kelly's 2 run homer highlighted the offense.  San Antonio 6, Manchester 0.

Saturday May 10.  The Calzones would strike for 5 runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead.  But the Maulers chipped away at Calzones starter Tim Higgins and some shoddy Calzones defense to retake the lead 6-5 after 6 innings.  Dong-ju Yo's two out RBI double in the 8th would tie the game.  Mauler's closer Augusto Leon would be called on in the 9th in a tie game, and he proceeded to walk Marcos Sotelo to start the frame.  After striking out Benitez, he hit Carlos Aquino on an 0-2 pitch to put runners at first and second.  Edmond Cliche tried to bunt the runners over but bunted right back to the pitcher who threw to third for an easy force out.  Jack Miller then bounced a ground ball deep in the hole at second.  Maulers second basemen Gunter managed to get to the ball but had no play on the speedy Miller.  That brought up Michael Kelly with the bases loaded and two out.  After the number of recent failures in late inning situations, Calzones fans were eagerly waiting for the ball to bounce their way.  And that is exactly what would happen as Leon would bounce a 59.5’ curveball to Kelly on a 3-1 pitch to force in the winning run on a bases-loaded walk.  Christos Douglass would get the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.  San Antonio 7, Manchester 6.

Sunday May 11.  The Calzones faithful again sold out Elysian Fields and the rabid throng on hand for the Sunday Night game was eagerly anticipating a sweep.  Fisher started for the Calzones but he would not make it out of the fourth inning as poor defense helped contribute to a very high pitch count early on.  He would throw 86 pitches in 3.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs (just 1 earned) and 2 walks while striking out 6.  He left trailing 3-2, but the Calzones would tie the game in the bottom of the fourth to take him off the hook and they would add a run in the 5th to take a lead.  Koch came on in relief and pitched a scoreless 5th and 6th innings, but allowed a 3-run home run to Daniel Rios in the 7th that would put Manchester back in front 6-4.  Marcos Sotelo would tie the game in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-out, 2-run double.  The game would be tied going into the bottom of the 9th frame for the second day in a row.  Miguel Angel Hernandez led off the inning with a double.  Cliche popped out weakly to second, bringing up Tony Pearson with one out.  Pearson worked the count to 3-2 before sending a drive high off the wall deep in the left centerfield gap for a game-winning RBI double.  Hector Nieves pitched the final out of the top of the 9th and was credited with his first win of the season.  San Antonio 7, Manchester 6.

Monday May 12.  The Calzones traveled to West Virginia, with Calzones starter Semblano starting against his former team.  A rough second inning would be Semblano's downfall as the Coal Sox struck for 4 runs in the frame.  They tacked on a run in the 7th off of Vazquez to lead 5-3 after 7 innings.  The Calzones would mount a two-out rally in the 9th with Benitez doubling and Victor Martinez following with a run-scoring single, but Aquino would bounce out weakly to second base to end the threat.  The Calzones offense was paced by Edmond Cliche's 3-for-5, 1 RBI day, but it wasn't enough.  West Virginia 5, San Antonio 4.

Tuesday May 13.  The Calzones would strike first with a 2-run home run from Vega in the top of the 4th, but West Virginia struck back quickly by posting a 3-spot in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-2 lead.  Yo hit an RBI double in the 5th to tie the game, but West Virginia would retake the lead in the bottom of the 6th with a single run and tack on an insurance run in the 8th.  Ornelas started for the Calzones but was not nearly as effective as he was in his previous start, allowing 4 runs in 6.2 innings on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3.  West Virginia 5, San Antonio 3.

Wednesday May 14.  Gibson would start and follow up his brilliant outing with another clunker.  The killer blow was Jon Wood's 3-run home run in the 4th.  Gibson would leave after 4 innings, having allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and walking 4 while striking out 2.  Coal Sox starter Ralph Dean was masterful for 6 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 in his six shutout innings.  But the Calzones would batter reliever Arthur Walker in the 7th, with a Victor Martinez solo home run starting the rally and Michael Kelly's two-out grand slam putting the capper on a 6-run frame.  The Coal Sox struck back for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 6, where it would remain until the bottom of the 9th.  Spanky Ortiz recorded the first two outs of the bottom of the 9th, then allowed back to back doubles to Wright and Thomas and that was the ballgame.  West Virginia 7, San Antonio 6.

News and Notes

After working successfully in a setup role several times in the past week, Jorge Gallegos has moved into the closer role.  Spanky Ortiz has struggled in his last few outings, allowing runs in 4 of his last 5 trips to the hill and losing two games.  The Calzones will experiment with Gallegos in the closer role and Ortiz in the setup role and attempt to bring some stability to a bullpen that has been struggling to find an identity with Bobby Wright on the shelf.  The Calzones have also sent Kevin Koch back down to Joplin and recalled left hander Yasujiro Takata to take his place.

While the Calzones remain third in the IL in runs scored, the inconsistency that has plagued the offense has caused some minor changes.  Edmond Cliche has earned the playing time and will platoon with Yo in right field.  Cliche will also play left field with Martinez moving to DH against left-handers, letting the struggling Aquino rest against southpaws.  Also look for Benitez to stay in the lineup against left-handers; his bat is too hot to sit and Kato is not producing enough to justify any playing time at all.  Cliche will bat second, and Miller will drop down to 5th, hopefully producing more RBI opportunities for the Calzones second-best RBI man.  Martinez will remain in the 6th spot against right-handers, with Aquino dropping to 7th.  If Aquino continues to struggle, don't be surprised if the Calzones call up Gregg Jordan and send Aquino back down to get his stroke together.  All Jordan has done is swat 8 home runs and drive in 22 in just 90 at bats at AAA.

How much longer will the Calzones wait before calling up Stephen Everett?  He is hitting .351 with a .411 OBP, 12 doubles, and is second on the team with 17 RBI.  It seems that if the Calzones are serious about trying to contend this year they would just dump Kato and bring up Everett.

On Wednesday, the Joplin Red Racers AAA affiliate recorded a no-hitter, with three pitchers combining for the feat.   Dylan Teague started and worked 6.2 innings, walking 3 and striking out 7.  Joey de Greef followed with 1.1 innings of perfect relief and Ron Coture picked up his 4th save with a hitless 9th, walking 1 and striking out 2.  The Red Racers won the game 1-0.  The 23 year old Teague has been a pleasant surprise this season, posting a 3-1 record and 1.87 ERA in 7 starts at Joplin.  He's a soft-tosser with just 3 pitches, but if his control comes around he might eventually see some time at the PEBA level.

Takahiro Kamida continues to show signs that he will develop some power, hitting another home run this past at AA Monterey, his second of the season.  He also went 11 for 27 at the plate in one recent six game stretch.  Nick Harris went 9 for 35 with 5 doubles, a triple, a home run, 7 RBI and 3 stolen bases in his first week at AA.

After allowing just 2 runs in 22.2 innings over his first 3 starts, Sixto Nunez had a rough outing in which he struggled with his control, allowing 6 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 5.2 innings.  The Tornadoes still won the game, 17-8, mostly on the strength of a 13 run 6th inning.  J.J. Johnson has raked Hi-A pitching for a .365 average and 17 RBI.  Shortstop Lucio Vera is also batting .365 with 12 RBI.  CF Hiroyasu Nan is batting .379 and leads the team with 15 runs scored and 4 stolen bases.  2B Dewey Blackwell is out for 1 to 2 weeks with back spasms.  He was batting .333 with 6 doubles and 8 RBI at the time of his injury.

The Calzones begin the next week with a key 3-game set against division rival Charleston at home, then travel to London for 3 games.  The week will finish with the Calzones coming home to play arch rival New Orleans in a potential showdown for first place.

Back next week, see you at the game.