Ottawa Lynx Week Five

It was a week that saw our top starting pitcher leave to play in South Korea, a week where we hit two home runs, and a week of road games with no breaks. Eleven games in ten days with no day off for travel beginning with an all night bus ride to Rochester immediately after the game Friday. Ottawa had to play two games on the afternoon of the day they arrived in Rochester. Granted, as originally scheduled, the series in Rochester was to be a two game set, (one game Saturday and one Sunday), but with the bad weather in week one it was decided that there would be a makeup game May 5, forcing the Lynx to play three games in two days. Then it would be off to Louisville and then Indianapolis, four games each then back home. No off days for travel coming back home-nineteen games, (counting our next home stand). The starters would have to keep up those quality starts or the Ottawa bullpen will soon be overworked and in shambles. Road trips are tough enough for any team but surely the IL can do better than this. You’re having a good season if you can play near .500 on the road and .667 at home and these types of road trips don’t make it any easier.

Ottawa had one more home game to play on Friday May 4 before hitting the road and what would be their last home game of the year against the Louisville Bats. The previous three games which opened the month of May had seen a continuation of the Lynx April offensive problems. But suddenly a solution to the Lynx offensive woes presented itself on this cloudless but windy Friday evening-make sure that Lynx pitcher Matt Childers comes to bat with runners in scoring position. Ottawa won this one 7-2 as Childers, (3-1) had another solid start hurling eight innings, giving up seven hits and allowing only two runs. But it was his bat which made the difference in this game. With Ottawa ahead 3-0 and with two runners on, two out, and in the bottom of the third, Childers drove in both runners with a double and put the Lynx 5-0, giving himself a cushion to work with the rest of the game and effectively blowing the game open. Seldom used to this point Dusty Wathan started at first base and together with short stop Danny Sandoval, was responsible for three of Ottawa’s eight hits in the game with both scoring on the Childers double. Ottawa finished up the home stand with a 12-11 record.

“Childers pitched a solid game and it was nice to get an early lead and give our starter some room to work,” said manager John Russell. I didn’t ask Russell to comment on his new offensive threat or if he was thinking of moving Childers up higher in the order!

Ottawa began their gruelling eleven game road trip with a double header split in Rochester. Brian Mazone, (3-2) went six strong innings for a 2-1 victory in game one but Rochester gained a split winning game two 3-2. In game one Mazone gave up only an unearned run in the fifth and Brian Sanches earned his fourth save of the season with a perfect seventh, striking out two. Again, Ottawa were unable to score many runs despite seven hits and three Rochester errors in the game but the pitching once again carried the day. Ottawa again counted seven hits in game two but Rochester starter Jason Miller, ( 1-0), held Ottawa to one run over his five innings of work. Chris Coste and Gary Burnham went 5-5 between them but got little help from the rest of the lineup. Joe Durbin, (0-1), allowed all three Rochester runs in 4.2 IP.

The Lynx got back on the winning track behind another solid performance by Zach Segovia, (1-4), who this time out finally got some run support. Segovia lasted 5.2 innings giving up two runs and Sanches notched his fifth save of the season, working around two base runners in the ninth.

Game one in Louisville was not pretty as the Bats pounded the Lynx 11-1. Ottawa starter Rick Bauer, (0-2), was once again hit hard early and often and left Ottawa in a deep hole. Bauer allowed nine runs on eight hits and three walks in a mere four innings. He has been very ineffective in all three of his starts this season and with the continued offensive struggles of Ottawa, his starts have been putting Ottawa in a early hole too big to dig out of. Considering he had a very solid season with the Texas Rangers last season it would be safe to assume that he is here to get some innings in with his record being relatively unimportant, virtually an extended spring training. Louisville starter Homer Bailey, (3-1), continued his domination of the IL and of Ottawa especially, going seven innings allowing only four hits and one run. Chris Coste drove in the lone Ottawa run.

The second game of this four game series saw Ottawa on the good side of a 10-4 score with Lou Collier hitting his first Triple A home run since 2004 and only the second home run for the Lynx this season. Ottawa held a slim 5-4 lead going into the ninth inning but tallied five times to put the game out of reach. J.A. Happ started and gave up all four Louisville runs in five innings but the Lynx bullpen held the Bats scoreless over the final four innings with Joe Ennis, (2-0), pitching a scoreless sixth and picking up the win. Collier homered in the third and Joe Thurston drove in a run to break the tie in the seventh.

Next game, May 9 an 11:05 AM start, Ottawa homered for the second consecutive game and won for the second day in a row, this time by a score of 5-2, getting ten hits. Joe Thurston hit his first home run of the year and Matt Childers, (4-1), pitched six innings of shut out ball with Kane Davis earning his first save of the year shutting down Louisville over the final two innings. Lou Collier continued his hot hitting going 3-3 with two RBI.

Thursday night was the conclusion of the Ottawa vs Louisville series and once again the Lynx bats were quiet but this time it was because of another very solid pitching performance by Louisville starter Phil Dumatrait, (5-1) who allowed one unearned run six innings and lowered his ERA to 1.99. J.D. Durbin, (0-2), took the loss despite five strong innings. The Lynx record is now 16-14, 4.5 games back of Buffalo in third place.

Lynx Notes: The Lynx top starter, Brian Mazone, was granted his release by Philadelphia and will play baseball in Korea for the reminder of the 2007 season. Joe Ennis was placed on the 15 day DL with a groin injury and pitcher Heath Totten was transferred to Ottawa from Double A Reading where he was 2-4 with a 4.46 ERA in six starts. Righty pitcher Jason Anderson was assigned to the Ottawa Lynx today from Philadelphia to replace Joe Ennis. With the season Mazone was having and the pitching woes of Philadelphia, one has to perhaps, (I don’t know the full story as of yet), wonder what the big club is thinking. Mazone is thirty years old which is certainly beyond being a prospect but the results have been there. Of course, pitching effectively against Triple A hitters and major league hitters can be two quite different things but I’m still scratching my head over that one.