Zach McAllister showed exactly why he was a 12-game winner for the Columbus Clippers Wednesday night.
McAllister went six innings and allowed five hits while striking out three against one walk, leading the Clippers to a 3-0 win over the Durham Bulls in Game 1 of their best-of-5 semifinal series of the Governors’ Cup Playoffs on a mild evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Game 2 is tonight at 7:05, with Clayton native Chris Archer (1-0, 0.69) taking on former Bull Mitch Talbot (4-2, 4.26).
“I was able to get ahead of hitters pretty well and locate some pitches when I needed to,” McAllister said. “I’ve been in playoffs before and it’s something I was comfortable doing.”
Chad Huffman homered and doubled for two RBI for the Clippers, who outhit Durham 11-5. Ray Olmedo had two hits and Stephen Vogt a double for the Bulls.
“Nobody’s pressing,” said Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo, who has led Durham to five straight IL South Division titles plus the 2009 National Championship. “We faced a guy who had won 12 games during the year and he pitched well. He kept the ball down and Moore gave us a chance.The pitching was outstanding. It’s just when you’re not hitting and the other guy’s dealing, 2-0 and 3-0 seems like a lot of runs when it’s not.”
Moore, who was 4-0, 1.37 after a late-season callup from Double-A Montgomery, went 6 2/3 innings and gave up all the runs on nine hits, also striking out three without a walk.
Zach Putnam picked up the save for Columbus after two innings of setup work from Lee Chen-Chang.
“From what we’ve heard about Moore he has a great arm, a great breaking ball and he threw some good changeups,” said Clippers manager Mike Sarbaugh, whose club won the Cup and the Triple-A National Championship last year. “Zach was outstanding. He got ahead in counts and really worked off of that and threw some good breaking balls. Huffman popped up in the first inning, but he made up for it.”
Columbus took a 1-0 lead in the first, as Travis Buck singled and scored on Beau Mills’ one-out double to left center.
Huffman doubled the advantage when he led off the fourth by launching a 1-2 offering over the 32-foot-high Blue Monster wall in left.
“You really can never appreciate what you do in a loss,” Moore said. “Their guy had some good stuff tonight, and I let a couple of runs bleed out when normally they wouldn’t. When I got behind I got in trouble and gave up the hits.”
Durham’s best chance to score came in the fifth when the Bulls loaded the bases with one out, but McAllister struck out J.J. Furmaniak before Buck made a sliding catch of Tim Beckham’s sinking liner just in foul territory in right.
“McAllister was tough,” said Bulls right fielder Russ Canzler, who was the IL’s MVP. “He had his fastball working and his cutter working. That’s a tough combination.”
The Clippers got an insurance run in the sixth as Jared Goedert led off with a single to right, advanced on Mills’ single to the left side, and scored on a close play at the plate on Huffman’s double to center.
“It’s always great to get the first win out of the way,” Huffman said. “So we can enjoy this for another hour and get ready for tomorrow. I felt pretty good at the plate, but tomorrow we have to go after tomorrow.”
Game 3 of the series – and games 4 and 5 if necessary – will be held Friday through Sunday at Huntington Park in Columbus. Bulls southpaw Alex Torres (9-7, 3.08) will take on Joe Martinez (8-9, 4.04) in Friday’s 7:05 p.m. contest.
The defending Triple-A National Champion Clippers are looking for their second straight Cup under second-year skipper and manager of the year Sarbaugh, who is looking to become the fourth manager to win the title in his first two seasons in the league. Columbus has won eight IL championships, including defeating the Bulls in four games in last season’s final.
The Bulls, who have won five straight South Division titles, are looking for their fifth straight appearance in the Governors’ Cup Finals under Montoyo. Durham has won three Cups in its 14 seasons in the league, including the National Championship team from 2009.
The survivor will host the first two games of the best-of-5 final against either Pawtucket or Lehigh Valley beginning Sept. 13, with the winner going to the National Championship game in Albuquerque on Sept. 20. The first Pawtucket at Lehigh Valley game was postponed from Wednesday night because of rain.
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