Outlaws win fourth straight series, move to 9-3 in interleague play with win over Law Dogs
With four different teams based in the Kansas area, the Flagstaff Outlaws recently bought a time share in Topeka, Kansas to get some cost savings on all the travel there. This time, the Outlaws visited the Eck League Law Dogs of Kansas to continue their interleague stretch.
Game 1: Severino v. Wood – Alex Wood had been amazing for the Outlaws this season, but it was the Law Dogs that finally solved the riddle of Wood. A four-run first inning was highlighted by a Mike Moustakas 3-run jack to set the tone.
In the bottom of the second, the Outlaws rallied for two runs and had loaded the bases for Paul Goldschmidt with two outs, but Luis Severino managed to get Goldy swinging to preserve the Kansas lead.
Kansas would get those two runs right back in the top of the third on a Justin Smoak homer and a Clay Bellinger RBI single.
After six innings, Kansas had a 7-3 lead and turned the ball game over to their bullpen after Severino pitched count topped the 120 barrier in the sixth. The Law Dogs even scored another run on another Smoak bomb pad their lead more, but it all came tumbling down.
Aaron Judge doubles off of Josh Fields to start the inning and moves to third on a Khris Davis single. Travis Shaw lines out to center, but Judge scampers home. Then Manny Pina follows with a two-run blast and the Outlaws not trail, 8-6.
After former Law Dog Bryan Shaw pitched a perfect eighth against his former team, the Outlaws went back to work. Alan Busenitz throws away Goldy’s grounder to allow him to end up at second to start the inning. Judge moves him over with a groundout to second. Then Davis follows with a game-typing bomb to deep left. Shaw goes back-to-back and gives the Outlaws their first lead at 9-8.
Jake McGee gets the first out of the ninth while Blake Parker gets the next two and Flagstaff completes the rally to open the series with a victory, 9-8.
W: Shaw (2-1)
L: Busenitz (0-2)
Sv: Parker (24)
HRs: KAN – Moustakas (11), Smoak (20, 21), Suzuki (3); FLG – Pina (4), Davis (16), Shaw (8).
Game 2: Happ v. Wacha – Colby Rasmus gets the Law Dogs on the board first with a solo homer in the top of the second, but all hell breaks loose against J.A. Happ in the bottom of the inning.
Happ walks the first four batters, Judge, Enrique Hernandez, Davis and Caleb Joseph, to tie the game. Michael Wacha helps his own cause with a ground out to third that allows Hernandez to score. Joe Panik grounds out to short to score Davis. Then George Springer blasts a two-run shot, scoring Joseph. Elvis Andrus follows with a homer. Nine Outlaws bat, six score.
Wacha cruises through five, but gives up back-to-back run-scoring hits to Dee Gordon and Whit Merrifield in the sixth to get the Dogs with two, 6-4.
Lane Adams comes off the bench in the bottom of the sixth to blast a homer batting for Wacha, but Kansas gets that run right back on a Wil Myers own pinch-hit homer off Ryan Buchter. But Buchter would get the next out and Shaw would get the next five, taking the game to the ninth. From there Blake Parker gives up a two-out single to Myers to give the Dogs some hope, but Yangervis Solarte grounds out to end the game. Flagstaff 7, Kansas 5.
W: Wacha (6-1)
L: Happ (2-8)
Sv: Parker (25)
HRs: KAN – Rasmus (4), Myers (2); FLG – Springer (21), Andrus (9), Adams (2).
Game 3: Ramirez v. Gonzalez – The series shifts to The Fields of Tombstone in Kansas and the Dogs get off to a strong start when Bellinger doubles in a run in the second and scores on Smoak groundout in the fourth to give Kansas a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, the Outlaws get a walk and single to start the frame and Goldy manages to get out of a funk and hits a two-run double down the first-base line to tie the game.
J.C. Ramirez is still in to start the seventh when Ben Zobrist greets him with a leadoff home run, but he manages to keep the Dogs off the board the rest of the inning. The Outlaw offense gets Ramirez off the hook in the top of the eighth when Pina hits his second homer of the series, a two-run shot, to give the Outlaws 4-3 lead.
Bottom of 8 and Buchter starts a rally for Kansas with a walk to Merrifield followed by Travis Shaw throwing low at second to try and get Merrifeld on a grounder by Bellinger to give the Law Dogs two runners on. Nick Goody comes on to strike out Smoak while McGee gets Moustakas to foul out to Shaw to end the threat.
McGee is tasked to Rasmus in the ninth, but another Shaw error put him aboard. But Parker trots out and gets the next three batters and Flagstaff escapes, 4-3.
W: Ramirez (5-1)
L: Fields (0-1)
Sv: Parker (26)
HRs: FLG – Pina (4); KAN – Zobrist (2).
Game 4: Kluber v. Sale – A premier pitching matchup and for once, Chris Sale wasn’t quite up to the challenge. Sale would only allow five hits and struck out 11 over six innings, but three of those hits were solo homers to Suzuki (twice) and Smoak.
Corey Kluber however, was plain sick. Complete game one-hitter. Eleven punchouts. Faced two batters over the minimum thanks to an error.
Kansas avoids a sweep, 3-0.
W: Kluber (9-5)
L: Sale (10-3)
Sv: None
HRs: FLG – none; KAN – Suzuki (4, 5), Smoak (22).