EVERYONE PITCHED IN
DURING ALLEY CATS
WIN STREAK
All four of Reed's saves this season have come during the streak. He was the beneficiary of a Charleston comeback April 26 in getting his first win. Shortstop Juan Peralta's two-run single capped a three-run bottom of the ninth giving the Alley Cats a 5-4 win over the Asheville Tourists.
Romero has saved one game and recorded a pair of wins. He was the winning pitcher in Charleston's 9-8, 14-inning victory on April 17 at Hagerstown. His other win came in a 2-0 shutout of Asheville on April 25. The Alley Cats have blanked their opponent four times, including back-to-back times against the Tourists.
Reliever Joaquin Canizal (3-0) earned the other extra inning win of the streak when it began April 15. As a matter of fact, his three wins are the most on the staff during the run. Canizal must have a rabbit's foot, or maybe an alley cat's paw, in his back pocket as he's only worked four innings in picking up the three victories. He keeps this up and he may conjure up images of former Baltimore Orioles and West Michigan Whitecaps manager Phil Regan.
Regan, who managed the Whitecaps in 2002 and 2003, earned the nickname "Vulture" while working out of the bullpen for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966. He made 65 relief appearances and picked up 14 wins. Regan also added 21 saves that year.
Davis Romero (no relation to Felix), Brad Esaray and Mark Sopko are the other three hurlers to save games.
Right-handed starter Shaun Marcum has a pair of victories during the streak. Marcum (3-0) tossed the first complete game shutout in the South Atlantic League this year in a 10-0 win over Greensboro on April 22. His performance earned him SAL Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of April 16-22.
Marcum is tied for third in the league in strikeouts with 27. Teammate Justin James, one of the eight pitchers to get a win during the run, leads the Sally League with 31 punchouts. James has fanned ten in two of his four starts.
Thomas Mastny, Ramon Mora and Marcos Sandoval are the three other pitchers to earn wins for the Alley Cats during the streak.
Second baseman Ryan Roberts and OF/DH Mike Galloway have been leading the hitters. Ryan Roberts is batting .390 (16-41) in Charleston's last 12 games with 11 runs, 11 walks, two doubles, four homers and 11 RBI. His homers have come in pairs; two on April 17 and another couple on April 24. Roberts is second in the SAL in average (.400), slugging percentage (.650), and walks (13).
Mike Galloway is pounding the ball at a .368 (14-38) clip in the streak. He has scored three runs and has three doubles, a triple, two homers and six runs batted in. Galloway's two-run homer last night was the difference in a 4-2 win over Asheville.
The Alley Cats, winners of a dozen games in a row, possess the best record in Minor League Baseball at 16-2. Today is an off-day. However, they are traveling this evening to Salisbury, Maryland to begin a four-game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds tomorrow. For some reason, I feel nobody will be pitching a fit over the 7-8 hour bus ride.
SPECIAL TO – WWW.CANADIANBASEBALLNEWS.COM – 28 April 2004
 |
|
|