SERIES #11 vs NEW YORK RIPPERS - Benitez Saves Two Against Former Team

Baltimore welcomes Billy and his New York Rippers to town for a three game set.  The two teams were trading partners a couple weeks back, seeing outfielders Shawn Green and Rondell White exit town, while right-fielder Larry Walker and closer Armando Benitez come into the fold.  The players involved will surely be looking to make a good impression on the team that traded them away.

The Rippers come in sporting a 11-19 record, currently seven games behind the Boston Beaneaters in the Classic League's Metro Division.  Losers of nine of their last 13 games, New York made a major deal in the hours prior to the series, acquiring outfielder Manny Ramirez in a multi-player swap.

Game 1
Memorial Stadium

May 4, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
New York Rippers (11-20)	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0		5	7	2
Baltimore Stouts (15-16)	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	X		7	4	0
	W: L. Hawkins (1-2)   L: D. Creek (1-3) SV: A. Benitez (6)

HR: D. Easley (5, 3rd inning off E. Dessens 0 on, 2 out)

Rippers SP Kevin Brown victimized
by his own defense for 5 unearned runs

In typical Baltimore form, the Stouts jump out to an early lead, only to see the bullpen blow the game in the late innings.  The Rippers defense was their own worst enemy in this one, allowing five unearned runs to be tagged to New York starter Kevin Brown in the 1st innings alone.  But Brown found his groove and kept the Baltimore bats at bay until his departure in the 7th inning.  In the meantime, his Rippers had plated five runs to tie the game.  A solo blast by Damien Easley in the 3rd off Stouts starter Elmer Dessens got the comeback started.  Four more in the 7th tied the game.  Brown exited the game allowing only three hits and no earned runs.

With the game tied, the Stouts went to work on the Rippers bullpen.  Doug Creek opened the 7th on the hill for New York.  After getting pinch-hitter Albert Belle to ground out to open the inning, Creek proceeded to walk Todd Helton, hit Larry Walker with a pitch, then walk Garrett Anderson to load the bases.  He was replaced by former Stout Turk Wendell, who promptly gave up a two-run single to Bill Mueller which proved to be the game-winner.  Newly acquired Felix Rodriguez pitched a scoreless 8th inning.  Former Ripper Armando Benitez struck out two in a 1-2-3 9th inning to secure the save.  Baltimore plated seven runs in the game on only four hits.  Six walks and the two costly errors in the 1st inning proved to be the downfall for the Rippers in this one.  Round one goes to the Stouts.

Game 2

Memorial Stadium

May 5, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
New York Rippers (12-20)	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	0		7	10	1
Baltimore Stouts (15-17)	0	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	0		5	11	1
	W: J. Wetteland (2-3)   L: J. Wright (1-2) SV: D. Miceli (3)

HR: M. Sweeney (4, 1st inning off J. Wright 1 on, 1 out), M. Ramirez 2 (3, 3rd inning off J. Wright 1 on, 1 out; 5th inning off A. Osuna 0 on, 2 out)

The Stouts called up starting pitcher Jaret Wright to take the place of suspended Kevin Appier in this game.  His night didn't last long though as he was chased from the game after completing his work in the 3rd inning, allowing five runs on seven hits, facing only 15 batters.  Baltimore bats mounted a comeback in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring four times off Rippers starter Jose Rosado, who was making his first appearance of the season.  Both teams sent a run across in the 5th, and the game was 6-5 heading into the late innings.

Manny Ramirez launched a
pair of homers in game two

This time, the Rippers bullpen came through as John Wettland, Doug Jones, Turk Wendell and Dan Miceli combined to toss 4.2 shutout innings to secure the victory.  It wasn't without some tense moments though.  Baltimore loaded the bases in the 8th, only to see Ed Taubensee fly out to center to end the inning.  Then in the 9th, the Stouts mounted another rally, getting runners on first and third against Miceli with the MBLs leading hitter Todd Helton at the plate.  But Helton grounded out weakly to first base to end the game, earning the Rippers the hard-fought victory and Miceli his third save on the season.  Newly acquired Manny Ramirez went 4-4 with a pair of homers, four runs scored and four RBI in only his second game for his new club.  Round two goes to the Rippers.

Game 3

Memorial Stadium

May 6, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
New York Rippers (12-21)	0	2	0	5	0	0	2	0	0		9	9	1
Baltimore Stouts (16-17)	0	0	6	0	0	1	3	1	X		11	12	3
	W: F. Rodriguez (1-2)   L: J. Wetteland (2-4) SV: A. Benitez (7)

HR: M. Ramirez (4, 4th inning off K. Rueter 1 on, 2 out)

HR: B. Mueller (3, 7th inning off J. Wetteland 0 on, 1 out)

Game three proved to be a hard-fought back-and-forth affair.  The Rippers opened the scoring, plating a pair in the 2nd inning.  Baltimore responded with six in the 3rd, chasing New York starter Mike Hampton in the process.  But the Rippers come right back with five of their own in the 4th to take a 7-6 lead.  The Stouts manufactured a run in the 6th to tie the game back up, but in typical Baltimore fashion, the bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead.  Felix Rodriguez took over for starter Kirk Rueter to open the 7th and he promptly allowed New York to go right back into the lead, giving up two runs and giving the Rippers a 9-7 advantage.

Pinch-hitter Eric Owens
sparked a couple late rallies

The seesaw action continued into the bottom of the 7th.  John Wettland opened the inning on the bump for New York, and after getting Ed Taubensee to open the inning with a ground out, he gave up a solo blast to Bill Mueller to cut the Rippers lead to one.  The next batter, Ricky Gutierrez grounded out and it looked like the damage may have been done, but the Stouts mounted a two out rally.  Eric Owens walked, stole second and took third on a wild throw by catcher John Flaherty.  Fernando Vina then walked putting runners at first and third.  Todd Helton was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Jamey Wright relieved Wettland on the hill.  Lance Berkman was called into action to pinch-hit for Albert Belle, and he responded by lacing a single to right to plate Owens and Vina.  Larry Walker was then intentionally walked to load the bases once again.  Former Ripper Eduardo Perez was called on to pinch-hit for Rodriguez, but he grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.  But the damage had been done.  Three runs came across to put the Stouts up 10-9 heading into the 8th.

With setup man Rodriguez already in the showers, the Stouts turned to Antonio Alfonseca to try and get the game to Armando Benitez.  He struck out Cal Ripken to open the 8th, the gave up a walk to Damien Easley, who then stole second to put the tying run in scoring position.  After Gerald Williams flew out to left, the game was turned over to Benitez, who struck out Mike Sweeney to end the rally.  The Stouts plated an insurance run in their half of the inning, and Benitez retired the Rippers in order in the 9th to secure the victory and earn his 7th save of the season, his 5th since joining the Stouts.  Eric Owens, who had entered the game in the 6th as a pinch-hitter, provided spark in this one for Baltimore, going 2-2 with a walk,  a pair of stolen bases, two runs scored, and an RBI.

Baltimore wins the rubber game to take the series two games to one.  Through 33 games, the Stouts currently sit only two games behind Milwaukee for the division lead with a record of 16-17, the closest they have been to the .500 mark since starting the season 0-6.  The team hits the road for their next six games, all of which are in New York.  First up is a date with the Bombers at Old Yankee Stadium, then a trip to Brooklyn's Ebbets Field for three against the Broken Arrow Bums.