Before tonight’s game started, I wondered who would give up more walks — Ollie Perez or whoever started for the Bears. I would have bet on the Bears’ pitcher and I would have lost.
Ollie walked seven en route to his second win of the season. Newark’s Ramiro Mendoza only walked two in six innings on the way to his first Atlantic League win.
I’m a fan of the well-pitched 3-2 or 2-1 game, but tonight’s 12-8 final was the best Atlantic League game I’ve seen in weeks.
Things started well for the Bears. Mendoza retired the first three Ducks and Andres Perez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to give Newark the early lead.
The Ducks fought back, with five in the second on an RBI single by Johnny Hernandez and a grand slam by Lew Ford. Newark tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a three-run homer by Felix Martinez and re-took the lead on an improbable solo shot by Brandon Buckman in the third.
That was enough to send Long Island starter B.J. Lamura to the showers. One-time Mets prospect Robert Paulk came on in relief and pitched a perfect fourth. In the fifth, Ducks DH Juan Francia used his speed (and some lackadaisical defensive play) to manufacture a run to re-tie the game.
Paulk came back out for the fifth adn yielded back-to-back doubles to Carl Everett and Salomon Manriquez to start the inning. He struck out the next two batters, but walked Michael Sandoval. Victor Mercedes hit a two-run triple and Felix Martinez singled him home. The Bears had a 10-6 lead.
The Ducks added a couple of runs off of reliever Keith Foulke, while the Bears picked up a couple of runs off Franklin Perez. Armando Benitez came on to close out the 12-8 victory.
With the win, the Bears finish the first half with a 35-35 record. Friday starts the second half and everybody gets a clean slate.
The Bears released Ryan Bukvich today, a move that seemed a bit overdue. They also cut Edgar Martinez, lost Jose Garcia because of family issues and Shane Komine due to injury. That’s four pitchers who had recently been in the starting rotation. I can hardly wait to see who has/will be replacing them.
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This is the baseball card that Gary Carter has been handing out to fans attending Atlantic League games this year. It’s a nice addition to my Gary Carter baseball card collection, but the autograph appears to be a pre-print.
































