The 2013 BRASSball season has begun! The California Roadrunners look to kickoff the season with a fresh start and new attitude. The ending of the 2012 was what you might call a disaster, and the Roadrunners hope that this will be the year they can finally contend for the AL West division title.
The first step toward their goal was a home-opening series showdown with Springfield. Erik Bedard got the nod for California, while Nathan Eovaldi started for Springfield. The hot dogs were warm, the beer was cold, and the evening was crisp. It was time for some Roadrunner Baseball!
The Roadrunners were on the board early and struck in the bottom of the first. Jarrod Dyson led off the game with a double, advancing to third on a Josh Hamilton ground out. With two outs, Paul Konerko hit a shot to Springfield third baseman Brandon Inge. Inge couldn't handle it and was charged with the error. Dyson crossed home plate to give California an early 1-0 advantage.
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| California's Jarrod Dyson Steals his First Base of 2013 |
In the bottom of the fifth, the Roadrunners looked poised for a big inning. Ryan Doumit singled to right, and Kelly Johnson beat out a slow grounder to second. With first and second and no outs, J.J. Hardy stepped up. Instead of busting the game open, he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Doumit, however, advanced to third and scored when Dyson doubled down the left field line. Eovaldi was relieved by Heath Bell, but that move proved to be costly for the Isotopes. Ryan Braun singled but Dyson was held at third. Braun stole second and Josh Hamilton stood up at the plate. Springfield decided to pitch to the Calfornia slugger, and Hamilton stroked one to left-center. Dyson and Braun scored to make it 4-0 in favor of the home team. Konerko grounded out to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Braun laced a solo shot over the left field wall just out of the reach of Jason Bay. That was all the noise California could make and was now up 5-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Roadrunners kept their offense going with a Torii Hunter single, an Aramis Ramirez walk, and a pinch-hit, RBI single from John Mayberry, Jr. Springfield reliever Esmil Rogers was finished, and was yanked in favor of Frank Francisco. Francisco, although fun to say, threw his first ball right in the dirt for a wild pitch which allowed Ramirez and Mayberry, Jr. to advance. Johnson singled to right which scored both runners and padded California's lead up to 8-0. All torn up, Francisco allowed the runner to get a huge jump from first and Johnson was in there safely. Francisco then stepped on the mound but was mouthing something to the umpire using his native tongue. The English-speaking umpire was confused and called a balk on the pitcher. Johnson moved to third and then all the way to home when Dyson was thrown out at first on a fielder's choice. Francisco then started walking toward the home umpire and his coaches and teammates rushed the field to hold him back. Clearly, he was upset, although no one understood what he was saying. Veteran Freddy Garcia was brought in to get out of the mess. After allowing a single to Braun, Garcia was able to get Hamilton to fly out to deep center to end the inning. After way too much drama from grown men, California was up 9-0.
Antonio Bastardo was able to finish off the Isotopes in the ninth to give California their first victory of the season. The California GM was quoted after the game, "Hey, this was an impressive first win, but we have a long way to go. It was truly a team effort out there as everyone put it all together. Now we need to build on this momentum and move forward."
BOXSCORE: 2013 Springfield Isotopes At 2013 California Roadrunners 4/5/2013
Isotopes AB R H RBI AVG Roadrunners AB R H RBI AVG
R.Andino 2B 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Dyson DH 5 2 3 2 .600
H.Pence RF 3 0 0 0 .000 R.Braun LF 5 2 3 1 .600
C.Lee DH 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Hamilton CF 5 0 1 2 .200
J.Bay LF 3 0 0 0 .000 B-H.Sanchez C 0 0 0 0 ----
B.Inge 3B 3 0 1 0 .333 P.Konerko 1B 4 0 0 0 .000
J.Donaldson C 3 0 0 0 .000 T.Hunter RF 3 1 0 0 .000
J.Smoak 1B 3 0 0 0 .000 A.Ramirez 3B 3 1 0 0 .000
C.Barmes SS 2 0 2 01.000 R.Doumit C 3 1 1 0 .333
B.Bogusevic CF 3 0 0 0 .000 A-J.Mayberry Jr PH,CF 1 1 1 11.000
K.Johnson 2B 4 1 3 2 .750
J.Hardy SS 4 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 28 0 3 0 Totals 37 9 12 8
A-Pinch Hit For Doumit In 8th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Hamilton In 9th Inning
Isotopes........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 3
Roadrunners..... 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 - 9 12 0
Isotopes (0-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
N.Eovaldi LOSS(0-1) 4 2/3 5 3 2 0 3 0 3.86
H.Bell 0 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 27.00
E.Rogers 2 3 4 3 1 5 1 13.50
F.Francisco 0 2/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 13.50
F.Garcia 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Totals 8 12 9 6 2 8 1
Roadrunners (1-0) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
E.Bedard WIN(1-0) 6 2/3 2 0 0 2 6 0 0.00
J.Veras HOLD(1st) 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
A.Bastardo 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Totals 9 3 0 0 2 7 0
ATTENDANCE- 48,337 DATE- Sunday, April 5th 2013 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Tim McClelland, Larry Vanover, Mike Everitt, Mike Dimuro
T- 3:09
LEFT ON BASE- Isotopes: 4 Roadrunners: 6
DOUBLE PLAYS- Isotopes: 1 Roadrunners: 2
ERRORS- B.Inge-2, J.Donaldson
DOUBLES- J.Dyson-2(2nd), J.Hamilton(1st)
HOME RUNS- R.Braun(1st)
STOLEN BASES- J.Dyson(1st), R.Braun-2(2nd), K.Johnson(1st)
WALKS- J.Bay, C.Barmes, T.Hunter, A.Ramirez
HIT BY PITCH- H.Pence
STRIKE OUTS- R.Andino, H.Pence, J.Bay, B.Inge, J.Donaldson, J.Smoak,
B.Bogusevic, J.Dyson, R.Braun-2, J.Hamilton, P.Konerko, A.Ramirez,
R.Doumit, K.Johnson
GIDP- B.Bogusevic-2, J.Hardy
BALKS- F.Francisco
WILD PITCHES- F.Francisco
2-out RBI- J.Dyson, J.Hamilton-2
RLISP 2-out- P.Konerko-2, J.Hamilton-3, R.Braun, J.Hardy, J.Donaldson
Jarrod Dyson hit 2 doubles and had 2 RBI at Angel Stadium where the California
Roadrunners beat the Springfield Isotopes 9 to 0.
California took the lead off Nathan Eovaldi in the first inning scoring one
runner. Dyson doubled. Ryan Braun was next to the plate, but was promptly
struck out. One out later, Paul Konerko came to the plate and reached on an
error. That was all the offense they were to need. California had 12 hits
overall, while Springfield had 3.
Erik Bedard(1-0) was the winner allowing no runs in 6 and 2/3 innings.
Eovaldi(0-1) absorbed the loss. He gave up 5 hits and no walks in 4 and 2/3
innings.
