Y-D: 0, Brewster: 2

PITCHER’S DUEL ENDS SOUR FOR RED SOX

Weather threatened the start of the game between the YD Red Sox (10-12-2) and the Brewster Whitecaps (12-9-2) as three of the five games on the Cape were postponed. Both teams played a hurried pace to escape the oncoming rain as the Whitecaps edged the Red Sox 2-0 on an overcast evening.

Alex Gonzalez confidently took the mound for the Red Sox in this match sporting a 1-1 record and an impressive 1.80 ERA (three earned runs in 17 innings pitched). Gonzalez picked up a win in his last start against the division leading Harwich Mariners on July 1^st at home going 5 1/3 innings and allowing one run. He executed yet another strong start on this particular evening against the Whitecaps throwing seven innings while allowing just three hits and the two lone runs of the game. He also struck out four batters and walked one.

Gonzalez was perfect through 3 1/3 innings before Brewster left fielder Jason Monda broke up his early perfect game bid with a single in the fourth. Besides that fourth inning, in which Gonzalez also surrendered his only base on balls, he looked very sharp in his outing. Characteristic of any pitcher’s duel, however, Gonzalez’s one mistake forced him to take the loss in the game.

With one out and one runner on base in the top of the seventh inning, Gonzalez yielded a two-run home run to clean up man Taylor Davis on a 3-1 count that cleared the center field wall and allowed the only two men to cross the plate for either team on the day.

After settling down and retiring the next two batters to end the seventh, relief man Matt Reckling pitched a scoreless and hitless eighth and ninth innings to leave the door wide open for the Red Sox offense to create a fire and attempt a comeback.

Nonetheless, the YD hitters were swinging heavy bats on Friday evening as they were able to scrape together just three hits off Whitecaps starting pitcher Brandon Love and relief men Austin Voth and J.T. Chargois. Overall, the Red Sox only had six base runners in the entire game and never advanced past second base.

Searching for some life, the Red Sox brought the top of the order to the plate to begin the ninth inning against lights out closer Chargois (three saves, 0.00 ERA in 8.0 innings). Shortstop Chris Taylor walked to start the inning and James Ramsey grounded into a fielder’s choice to put himself on first with one out. After Stephen Piscotty was thrown out on a broken bat ground ball to third, advancing Ramsey to second, Player of the Week Mason Katz flew out to right field to end the disheartening game.

Again, it only takes one bad mistake to lose a pitcher’s duel, which the Red Sox found out the hard way. Between Gonzalez and Reckling, they produced seven 1-2-3 innings against Brewster hitters, a remarkable statistic, yet it was not enough to claim a win as the Red Sox dropped their third straight game.

YD continues on the road tomorrow, Saturday, as they seek revenge against the Brewster Whitecaps.