SERIES #7 @ COLORADO BRIAR JUMPERS - Another Blown Save Deters Sweep

The Stouts travel to the Mile High city for a three game clash with Jason and his Colorado Briar Jumpers.  The Jumpers come into the series atop the Western Division sporting a 12-6 record.  They are winners of five in a row and six of their last seven.  Baltimore is coming off two hard-luck losses at the hands of division rival Toronto in their last series.  They will also be playing short-handed after their trade with the New York Rippers over the weekend.  These will be the first games for both teams outside of their own division.  Let's get to the action.



Game 1
Coors Field

April 21, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore Stouts (8-11)	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	0	0		5	11	2
Colorado Briar Jumpers (12-7)	0	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		4	10	1
	W: S. Estes (2-1)   L: R. Ankiel (2-3) SV: L. Hawkins (1)

HR: B. Mueller (2, 2nd inning off R. Ankiel 0 on, 1 out), R. Gutierrez (3, 4th inning off R. Ankiel 2 on, 0 out), L. Berkman (2, 5th inning off R. Ankiel 0 on, 2 out)

Baltimore scores five runs in the game, all powered by the long ball, and all off of Colorado starting pitcher Rick Ankiel.  A solo-shot by Bill Mueller in the 2nd inning got the scoring started.  A three-run blast by Ricky Gutierrez in the 4th provided insurance.  And a solo-shot by Lance Berkman in the 5th ended up being the game-winner.  Starter Shawn Estes was strong in this one through 5.2 innings, striking out seven.  The bullpen once again made the game interesting, allowing Colorado to close to within one run in the 7th.  But Steve Kline and Latroy Hawkins came in and shut the Briar Jumpers down in the 8th and 9th to preserve the victory.  Gary Sheffield went 3-4 for Colorado in a losing cause, boosting his season average to .422.


Game 2
Coors Field

April 22, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore Stouts (9-11)	3	4	2	4	0	2	0	0	0		15	18	1
Colorado Briar Jumpers (12-8)	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1		5	11	4
	W: B. Rekar (1-1)   L: M. Herges (1-1)

HR: L. Berkman (3, 4th inning off E. Gagne 1 on, 2 out)
HR: J. Fabregas (1, 9th inning off B. Rekar 0 on, 1 out)

This game was decided very early as Baltimore jumped on Colorado starter Matt Herges for three in the 1st, four in the 2nd and two more in the 3rd to take an commanding 9-0 lead.  His replacement, Eric Gagne, didn't fare much better, allowing six runs in his three innings of work.  The hits were flying all aroud in this one as the teams combined for 29 of them to go along with 20 runs.  Todd Helton went 5-5 with a triple, five runs scored and four RBIs.  Lance Berkman went 5-6 with a triple, three runs scored and four RBIs.  Even light hitting Donnie Sadler joined in on the fun.  Forced into action when Eric Owens was ejected in the 1st inning for arguing the strike zone, Sadler rapped three hits including a pair of doubles.  Bryan Rekar, in his first start for Baltimore following a trade to the team last week, went the distance.

Game 3
Coors Field

April 23, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore Stouts (9-12)	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	0	0		6	12	0
Colorado Briar Jumpers (13-8)	1	1	0	0	0	5	0	0	X		7	12	0
	W: S. Sauerbeck (2-0)   L: J. Wright (1-1) SV: T. Adams (2)

HR: G. Anderson (8, 2nd inning off G. Heredia 1 on, 0 out)
HR: D. Erstad (3, 1st inning off J. Wright 0 on, 0 out)

Colorado jumped out in front early on a solo-shot by Darin Erstad in the 1st, but the Stouts responded in the 2nd when Garrett Anderson blasted a two-run homer to give the Stouts a 2-1 lead.  The Briar Jumpers come right back in the bottom half against Baltimore starter Jaret Wright when Alex Gonzalez doubled and then scored on a Jorge Fabregas single to right.  The Stouts ended Gil Heredia's day in the 4th when they plated four runs, giving them a 6-2 advantage.  The game remained that way until the 6th, when Colorado finally got their bats in gear.  They chased Wright with a five-run two-out rally to take a 7-6 advantage.  Baltimore couldn't get anything going off the Briar bullpen, with Terry Adams collecting the final six outs of the game for the save.


Stouts take two of three on the road against a division leader.  Next up is a date at home against Jeff and the Vipers from San Diego.  They come into town sporting the same 9-12 record on the season.