Flagstaff takes series from Granite State

Completing their first pass through the Butler Division, the Flagstaff Outlaws won three games from the Granite State Lightning giving them four series wins against foes from that division.

Game 1: Sale v. Eickhoff – Chris Sale starts off retiring 11 straight and is staked to a two-run lead when Elvis Andrus and George Springer hit two-out RBIs in the top of the fourth. Sale’s streak ends when Miguel Sano cranks one off Sale, to the delight of the Lightning home crowd.

But that’s the only real blemish on Sale’s record, who goes six innings allowing two hits while striking out 10 Lightning. The bullpen plays matchup over the last three innings, scattering a couple of hits and Blake Parker pitches a perfect ninth to give Flagstaff a 3-1 victory.

W: Sale (7-1)
L: Eickhoff (2-6)
Sv: Parker (15)
HRs: FLG – none; GSL – Sano (9).

Game 2: Greinke v. Nolasco – Flagstaff jumps out in front off of Ricky Nolasco when Springer and Aaron Judge each hit solo homers in the first frame. Khris Davis add his own bases empty blast in the fourth to give the Outlaws a 3-0 advantage.

In the fifth, Jonny Gomes laced a two-out RBI single off of Zack Greinke and Sano adds another solo bomb in the sixth to get Granite State within in a run.

Just like Sale, Greinke’s day ends after six and the Outlaw bullpen once again puts together their matchup bullpen and Parker does his job with another perfect ninth. Springer adds an insurance RBI in the eighth as well.

Flagstaff 4, Granite State 2.

W: Greinke (7-1)
L: Nolasco (0-4)
Sv: Parker (7-1)
HRs: Springer (12), Judge (13), Davis (11); GSL – Sano (10).

Game 3: Gray v. McHugh – Collin McHugh has done well in the role of giving Alex Wood the occasional breather to manage Wood’s workload. Today was not the case.

Granite State gets singles runs in the first and second innings, but it’s a four-run third capped by Adeiny Hechavarria’s two-run homer, that puts the Lightning well out front, 6-0.

Springer and Goldschmidt pop solo homer, but the Flagstaff offense isn’t able to string any sort of big innings together and Granite State wins, 8-2.

Sonny Gray goes six, scattering six hits while striking out five to earn the victory.

W: Gray (4-3)
L: McHugh (0-1)
Sv: Asher (2)
HRs: GSL – Hechavarria (3), Harrison (3); FLG – Springer (13), Goldschmidt (7).

Game 4: Bridwell v. Wacha – After getting shown up at home, Flagstaff’s bat gets hot, putting up runs in seven of eight innings they’d bat in. No huge innings, but enough to push the Outlaws to a series win with a 10-1 score.

Flagstaff would bang out 17 hits and Michael Wacha even got into the fun, slamming a solo homer in the fifth. But it was his six innings of two hit work with a lone unearned run set to his mark that was the big contribution.

W: Wacha (3-0)
L: Bridwell (1-6)
Sv: None
HRs: GSL – none; FLG – Goldschmidt (8), Wacha (1), Hernandez (2), Davis (12).