Frisco Swept At Springfield
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SPRINGFIELD, MO. – The Frisco RoughRiders suffered a sweep at the hands of the Springfield Cardinals with a 2-1 walk-off loss in thirteen innings at Hammons Field on Thursday night. It was the second walk-off loss of the series; all three defeats in the sweep came by one run.
Just like on Tuesday, Frisco (18-28, 57-59) struck for a run in the first for the game’s first run. Similar to Tuesday as well, Rougned Odor launched a solo shot with one out to give the ‘Riders a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Frisco offense went dormant the rest of the way against left-hander Tim Cooney and the Cardinals bullpen, but the way Luke Jackson tossed the ball in his first Double-A start for the ‘Riders, it looked as if it might be enough.
Jackson struck out four Cardinals in the first two innings and fanned six over six scoreless innings. The Cardinals (23-23, 56-58) got only one man into scoring position against the right-hander, and Jackson finished his night by retiring the final seven batters he faced.
In the first inning against the ‘Riders bullpen, however, Springfield pounced
for a run. Against former St. Louis and Springfield Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan, Springfield scratched across an unearned run. McClellan issued a leadoff walk to Ruben Gotay. He moved down to second base on a wild pitch, tagged and slid down to third base on a fly out to right and then scored on an error by Luis Sardinas on a play that could have ended the inning. The blunder tied the game at 1-1, and both teams were held silent in regulation.
Jon Edwards spun three scoreless innings in extra frames for the ‘Riders pitching staff. The ‘Riders offense got two men aboard in the 12th but could not score, and the Cardinals finally ended it in the 13th.
Against Phil Klein, again the Cards took advantage of more Frisco fielding mistakes. With two outs, Colin Walsh singled to keep the inning alive. Gotay then socked a ball to right field. Joe Benson bobbled the ball in the outfield and Brett Nicholas made an off-line throw home, as Walsh was able to score from first base on the single by Gotay to end the ballgame.
Jose Almarante (2-1), who earned the save on Tuesday, secured the win. Phil Klein (5-1) suffered his first Texas League loss.
With the three-game series complete in Springfield, the RoughRiders travel to Tulsa where they will play the Drillers for a three-game series. Game one is Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Tyler Tufts (3-3, 3.05 ERA) gets the nod for the ‘Riders against Tulsa’s Tyler Matzek (7-7, 3.38 ERA). Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 6:40.
The ‘Riders return to Frisco for a six-game home stand on Tuesday, August 13 against the Cardinals. Tickets remain available and may be purchased at the Dr Pepper Ballpark box office, at www.RidersBaseball.com or by calling (972) 731-9200.
