Express vs. Zephyrs 7/1/12
Final: Heilman strikes out the final batter of the game to secure the E-Train’s 4-0 victory.
EPW: The EPW appears to be locked up in Bell’s favor. Entering the top of the 9th, Bianucci has had a good game with a single and an RBI, and Nelson has been quiet, but Bell pitched so well I think there is no question that as long as Heilman can hold on to the four run lead then Bell will take home his first EPW victory.
Power Outage: At this point in the season last year (July 1st) the E-Train had 107 homeruns as a team. This year, including Butler’s solo shot tonight, the Express have 83.
The Butler Did It: Joey Butler (2012 PCL all-star) hits his 12th homerun in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead to 3-0.
EPW: Bell’s night is done. He rocked tonight. Nelson grounds to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
Tonight’s Attendance: 6,527
Chad: through two triple-A starts, Chad Bell is sporting a handy .77 ERA
EPW: Bell has seen a few rough patches, although he has battled well tonight and gotten out of any trouble he has found himself in. Bell has allowed only four hits all night through six innings. Bianucci grounds out to end the bottom of the sixth.
The Great Chicken Race: Starting this month we will be keeping track of the nightly winner of the Chicken Race to track how each winner does relative to the overall success of the Express.
Tonight’s Winner: Chicken Blue (1)
Chad: Bell surrenders his first walk of the night to the lead off man in the top of the sixth inning
We’ll Take It: The Zephyrs commit two errors (wild pitch to advance Solarte to second, and a throwing error to allow him to score) with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, leading to an Express run. Express now lead 2-0 after five.
Getting Ahead: Both pitchers have combined to throw 10 straight first-pitch strikes.
- the streak ends at 13 straight first-pitch strikes
EPW: Bell sails through the top of the third inning, he has thrown 43 pitches through the first three and allowed only two hits. In the fourth he runs into a bases loaded jam but gets out of it with no runs allowed. Bianucci pops out to the short stop and Nelson pops out to center in the bottom of the fourth.
EPW Update: Bell started the game strong, allowing one runner to reach but stranding him on first. Bianucci singled down the third base line to bring in Julio Borbon for a two out RBI, giving the E-Train an early first inning lead. Nelson then struck out to end the inning.
Borbon: Julio reaches on a single up the middle after a 10-pitch battle to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
First Pitch: 7:06
