Outlaws 7-game win streak stopped; drop first series
After opening division play on a strong note, a red-hot Flagstaff Outlaws continued their homestand with another division foe, the Bear Country Jamboree. Traditionally, the Outlaws have the Jamboree’s number, but in this tight series, it was Bear Country taking control.
Game 1: Faria v. Sale – Chris Sale had been good since joining the Outlaws, but this was his first rough outing.
Tied 1-1 after five innings of work, Kevin Pillar knocks a solo homer off of Sale to put Bear Country on top. Then three straight singles plates another run. Andrelton Simmons would add a two-run double two batters later and a tight game turns in a blowout.
Bear Country would tack a few more runs on late, but their real story was Jacob Faria and company limiting the Outlaws to just six hits in the game.
Bear Country wins the opener, 7-1.
W: Hand (2-0)
L: Sale (2-1)
Sv: None
HRs: BCJ – Pillar (1); FLG – none.
Game 2: Paxton v. Grienke – After taking the night off, the Flagstaff offense goes into overdrive, scoring five times of James Paxton and then piling on four runs late off of Ty Blach.
The attack was balanced as every Outlaw starter got a knock, except for Elvis Andrus, and Flagstaff evens the series in a laugher, 9-1.
Zack Grienke moved to 3-0 as he went six scoreless, allowing just four batters to reach and saw two of those erased on double plays.
W: Grienke (3-0)
L: Paxton (0-2)
Sv: None
HRs: BCJ – Contreras (); FLG – Judge (4), Hernandez (1).
Game 3: Santana v. McHugh – After two blowouts, this one settles into a classic pitchers duel.
Bear Country gets on the board first when Wilson Contreras homers in the second inning. But Aaron Judge ties the game with his bomb in the fifth inning.
After Collin McHugh makes it through six frames, the Outlaws turn the game over to the bullpen and Nick Goody starts the seventh allowing a solo homer to Matt Adams.
In the 9th, Aroldis Chapman tries to nail down the save, but a single and walk to the bottom of the lineup creates some trouble. George Springer strikes out and Joe Panik flies out. But Paul Goldschmidt singles to load the bases. Judge rolls over a Chapman offering, grounding weakly toward the second baseman and Bear Country holds on, 2-1.
W: Miller (1-0)
L: Goody (1-1)
Sv: Chapman (1)
HRs: BCJ – Contreras (2), Adams (1); FLG – Judge (5).
Game 4: Ramirez v. Wacha – Michael Wacha walks the first three batters he sees to start the game but a sac fly and two-out single by Contreas limits the damage to just two runs.
Flagstaff answers on a Travis Shaw RBI knock, but Judge is thrown out trying to tie the game and Bear Country leads, 2-1, after one inning.
After that shaky first, both starters put up nothing but zeroes for the next five innings. In the seventh, Wacha tires and Delino DeShields cashes in with a key RBI single to give the Jamboree some breathing room.
But in the bottom of the eighth, Flagstaff answers off of Andrew Miller, scoring twice. Miller was pitching in his second inning of work when an error,and a hit batter got him in trouble. Two walks later and Paul Goldschmidt had forced in a run. Judge then hit a ball that DeShields catches against the scoreboard in left, but the collision with the wall allows the tying run to easily score.
With a new lease on live, Blake Parker is sent out to pitch the ninth with the save situation gone and he allows a leadoff double to Simmons. Pillar moves him over and DeShields comes through again with the go-ahead RBI.
Brad Hand had gotten the last out in the eighth, but with Chapman ready to go in the bullpen, Bear Country stayed with Hand. He would give up a single, but would get the final two batters to strike out and the Jamboree take a close one, 4-3, to earn a series victory on the road.
W: Hand (3-0)
L: Parker (2-1)
Sv: None
HRs: BCJ – none; FLG – none.