Friday, June 4, 2010

A night to forget -- unless you're Charlie Strandlund

First, the bad news. The Victoria Seals lost their fifth consecutive game on Friday night when they were demolished by the Yuma Scorpions 14-9.

Our team is still looking for their first road win of the season after playing four dismal games in Arizona this week. Friday's loss drops Victoria's record to 6-7 and they are now below .500 for the first time in 2010. The Scorpions, who had a slim 5-4 lead entering the bottom of the fifth, put the game out of reach by scoring 9 runs in that inning. The victory by the Scorpions was their eighth in a row.

Now, the good news. Charlie Strandlund came into the game to pinch hit for pitcher Aaron Easton in the top of the eight inning. After flying out, Strandlund stayed in the game and made his professional debut on the mound in the bottom of the inning. Manager Kip Gross made the move after burning through six different pitchers in the first seven innings.

Strandlund made the most of his opportunity. He retired the Scorpions 1-2-3 in the bottom of eighth, including a swinging strikeout of Bubba Garcia. On a night when Yuma clubbed 20 hits, Strandlund's inning on the hill was a nice silver lining.

Seal Blubber Bits
  • Nick Martin gave up five earned runs in 2/3 of an inning to raise his ERA to a whopping 21.86.
  • Jino Gonzalez gave up three earned runs in 1/3 of an inning and saw his ERA jump to a monumental 81.08.
  • The Seals' team ERA now stands at 6.01. I wouldn't be surprised to see a roster move or two on the pitching side in the coming days.
Editor's Note: The box score for the game published an inaccurate ERA for Jino Gonzalez. His correct ERA for the season is 8.36. Thanks to an alert reader (Tom) for pointing that out.