Ottawa Lynx Week Six

The Ottawa Lynx continued their ten day eleven game road trip in Indianapolis Friday May 11-Monday May 14 hoping to gain some ground on division rivals Buffalo and Pawtucket before opening up an eight game home stand against the two teams. Once again they were scheduled to face one of the leagues best pitching staffs as they attempted to climb further over the .500 mark and closer to Buffalo and Rochester in the standings. When a team is having trouble offensively, the Indianapolis starting staff is not what the doctor ordered. Game one saw Ottawa put some runs on the board on a rare night when the pitching wasn’t there but the bats carried the day. The Lynx put seven runs across the plate winning 7-6, Brennan King driving in the go aheads run with two out in the top of the ninth and Brian Sanches picked up the save, (his sixth), pitching a scoreless ninth. Lynx starter Zach Segovia put Ottawa in an early hole, down 5-0 after three innings but the offense came alive tying the game with a five run sixth inning. Both starters were gone by then and it came down to a battle between the bullpens with Ottawa winning out. King ended the day with three RBI for Ottawa.

The next two games were won by Indianapolis as the offensive struggles for Ottawa continued. Saturday resulted in a 5-2 win for the Indians and Sunday was another loss for Ottawa, this time 5-3. Heath Totten, (0-1), made his first ever Triple A start and gave up all five runs over six innings. That was more than enough for Indianapolis as John Van Benschoten, (3-2), continued his outstanding season, pitching seven innings and allowing only one run, lowering his ERA to 1.82, fifth in the IL. J.A. Happ started Sunday’s matchup and while Ottawa scored three in the first inning, Happ couldn’t hold Indianapolis, giving up all five runs in five innings and the Lynx were held scoreless for the remaining eight innings by Indianapolis. Once again Brennan King provided most of the Ottawa offense, hitting his second home run of the season and driving in two of the three Ottawa runs.

The final game of this road trip saw the Lynx bats come alive scoring ten runs but Indianapolis scored fifteen, winning three out of four and this one 15-10. Ottawa finished the eleven game road trip with five wins and six loses, a very good trip with their record coming home sitting at 17-17. Ottawa held an 8-6 lead after six innings as neither starter, (Matt Childers lasting two innings and Sean Burnett four), figured in the decision. The Lynx bullpen had an uncharacteristic meltdown as Joe Besinius, (1-2) allowed five runs in the seventh and Brian Sanches allowed four Indian runs in the eight. Dusty Wathan went 4-5 and Chris Roberson hit his first home run of the year as Ottawa counted 15 hits-perhaps a sign that as the weather warms up, so too will the Lynx bats.

The Buffalo Bisons who have dominated the Ottawa Lynx over the years, (90-57, 3-1 this season), and came into town leading the division with a 22-12 record and a two game win streak, once again defeated the Lynx, this time 7-6. Lynx starter J.D. Durbin, (0-3), gave up seven runs in six innings and was lifted with Ottawa trailing 7-0. Although Bisons starter Sean Smith, (3-1) held Ottawa scoreless over six innings, the Lynx continued to chip away against the Buffalo bullpen scoring in the seventh, eight and ninth but came up one run short despite three runs in the ninth.

Game two against Buffalo proved to be a very tough loss, a game which was all but in the win column for Ottawa but was snatched away late in the game. Ottawa starter Zach Segovia, (1-4 ), was once again the victim of hard luck. He held buffalo to only one run in 6.2 innings and left the game holding a 2-1 lead. But the Lynx bullpen couldn’t hold the win for him as Anderson Garcia allowed the tying run in the ninth and Brian Sanches, (0-1), allowed the eventual winning run in the tenth. Ottawa loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth off of Mike Koplove but the Buffalo closer recovered and got the final out for the win. The loss was the Lynx fifth in a row and put them seven games back.

Manager John Russell put the loss and the situation in perspective. “It’s too early in the year to start worrying about how far back in the standings we are. This team started off the same way last season and we recovered to win the division. We’re starting to play better day in day out baseball and I can see signs that the offense is coming around.”

Those words proved prophetic for game three as Ottawa took advantage of a rookie Bison starter and snapped the five game losing streak with a 4-1 win. This was a win that was sorely needed after the tough loss of the previous nights game and put Ottawa in position for a split in the series and a chance to get to five games back. The Lynx put three runs on the board in the first and one in the second off of Buffalo Triple A rookie starter Aaron Laffey, (0-1). Although Laffey held the Lynx scoreless over his next four innings, it proved to be enough. Heath Totten, (1-1), turned things around after his last start and threw seven innings, allowing only one run, Ottawa turning three double plays behind him. Kane Davis was absolutely untouchable in his two innings of work, recording all six outs on strikeouts. Ottawa are now 18-19 and play the final game of this four game series tonight with J.A. Happ scheduled to get the start.

Lynx Notes: Gary Burnham hit two more doubles last night giving him 12 for the season, (7^th in the IL). Jim Rushford and Lou Collier are in the top ten in batting in the IL, hitting .337 and .336 respectivley while the Lynx are currently fourth at .268. Brennan King leads the team with 23 RBI. Ottawa remain far and away the worst home run hitting team in the league with a mere five, and none at home. They are twelfth in team ERA, (4.07), and last in WHIP, (1.49). Matt Childers has four wins and Brian Sanches has six saves, both in the top ten in the IL.

Chris Coste was recalled to Philadelphia Monday, May 14^th. Joey Hammond, who played for Ottawa in 2003 and 2004 and who was hitting .327 in Double A, was sent to Ottawa from Reading to replace Coste. Lou Collier was named the hitter of the week for the IL, hitting .524 with six RBI in six games and Phillies Minor League Player of the Week. Matt Childers was placed on the DL May 15 with a sore knee and Ottawa added reliever Anderson Garcia from Double A, sending pitcher Ryan Cameron down. On May 16, John Ennis was activated from the DL to replace Childers and Eude Brito who had been on the DL was transferred to Single A Clearwater.