Brandon Duckworth (photo courtesy oroyals.com)
Individually, most baseball players will tell you the hardest thing to do is hit a baseball. As a team they’ll tell you one of the hardest things to do is sweep a double header. That was obvious Wednesday night as the Omaha Royals and Fresno Grizzlies took part in two games that couldn’t have been more different.
Compared to Bruce Chen’s complete game shut out, the Royals’ game two starter, Brandon Duckworth laid a proverbial egg.
Brandon’s trouble started almost immediately. After retiring the first two batters of the game, John Bowker rocketed a single to center field, and catcher Matt Witters ripped a towering homerun to right to give Fresno a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Omaha rallied to tie the game thanks to a leadoff double by Tommy Murphy (his first of two in the game) followed by what was supposed to be a sac bunt by Jose Duarte which was turned into a single, and a error when Grizzlies’ third baseman threw the ball into right field scoring Murphy. Irving Falu bunted Duarte over to third, and Brayan Pena brought him home with a sac fly, tying the game at two.
Duckworth couldn’t hold the stalemate for long. After retiring Bowker to open the 4th inning, he surrendered four straight hits (3 singles and a double) as well as a sac fly, allowing three more runs to score and handing the Grizzlies a 5-2 lead.
Cory Aldridge blasted a home run in the bottom of the fourth, a shot that appeared to sail just over the foul pole, and brought the Royals within two, but Duckworth yet again was roughed up in the top of the 5th, allowing three straight singles to lead off the innings, and before he could retire the side, the score was 7-3 Fresno.
Duckworth’s rough outing comes on the heels of arguably his best. In his last start, Brandon went seven innings, surrendering just three hits and a walk while not allowing a run, drawing a no-decision in a game that eventually went 12 innings. Yesterday, Duckworth pitched just five innings gave up nine hits, and all seven runs were earned.
Omaha continued to fight, bolstered by a solo home run that just got over the right field wall by Scott Thorman, and two shutout innings by relievers Greg Atencio and newest Royal Victor Marte.
In the bottom of the 7th, the tying run came to the plate after a leadoff single by Mario Lisson, followed by an RBI double from Tommy Murphy. Kila Ka’aihue, who had been sitting out the nightcap, pinch hit for Jose Duarte and grounded out to Grizzlies’ closer Geno Espinelli, and Irving Falu ended the contest with a weak grounder to short.
The split keeps the Royals solidly in fourth place of the PCL American North, 4.5 games behind the Nashville Sounds, who they will face in a four game series starting Friday.
Luke Hochevar will make his triumphant return to Omaha tonight as he will attempt to give their first series win since winning three of five against Nashville from May 8th through the 11th.
Hochevar was 5-0, with a 0.90 ERA in his first stint with Omaha this season.
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