Link Report for Fri. 7/9 -- Farm teams go 5-1 on the night

[Mass Haas]

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Latest rally keeps Brewers in first

By AMBER KUEHN, Helena Independent Record

 

Oh, if John Dishon’s coaches at Louisiana State University could see him now.

 

The Helena Brewers right fielder who admittedly struggled with bunting in college laid down the perfect squeeze play in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night against the Great Falls Voyagers to cap a four-run rally and send the game to extra innings.

 

Then the hosts used a stellar outing by reliever Adrian Rosario, heads up baserunning by catcher Brent Dean and an untimely error by Great Falls first baseman Andy Wilkins to plate the winning run in the 10th, giving the Brewers a 7-6 victory over the Voyagers to maintain their grip on first place in the Pioneer League’s North Division.

 

“We just needed a hit right there, and with the third baseman playing way back on the dirt I just knew if I got it far enough away from the pitcher it was an easy hit and easy run to tie the game,” Dishon said.

 

Great Falls starter Steven Upchurch and the visitors’ offense did their part to try and earn the team’s first sweep of the season and sole possession of the standings lead. Upchurch didn’t allow a single earned run in six innings of work, and a big sixth inning for Great Falls (11-8) put Helena in a 6-2 hole.

 

Then the Voyagers bullpen self-destructed, and the kings of comeback were back to their old ways at Kindrick Field. Helena (12-7) has now won six games this season when trailing after the sixth inning.

 

With two outs in the ninth, Cody Hawn drew a walk off of closer Stephen McCray, which was followed by Shea Vucinich’s double, just his second hit of the series. McCray then appeared to intentionally walk Mike Walker.

 

That’s when Brewers manager Joe Ayrault let Dishon make the call. With two outs and the bags loaded, Dishon read the situation perfectly with his RBI bunt single.

 

“He’s one of those guys who’s got a real knack for reading third basemen,” the Brewers skipper said. “I always joke with him, I can’t roll the ball better than that to third base. He just gets them down, he’s very confident in what he’s doing. I told (Brandon) Sizemore at third base, be ready, he’s probably going to bunt.”

 

In the 10th, Rosario fanned Michael Blanke on three pitches, Sizemore grabbed a bullet out of the air for the second out and Dishon made the final fly out in right field.

 

Dean led off the bottom half of the inning with a single to center. John Bivens bunted, and Dean—his catcher’s instincts anticipating a throw to second—just kept on going to third, where no one was covering. That left the winning run 90 feet from home, which was scored when a throw by Wilkins was bobbled at home plate.

 

“It was something that I was anticipating,” said Dean, who was seeing his first action since June 29 after suffering a hamstring injury. “They had thrown a strike the pitch before and I saw the third baseman was crouching. I didn’t even break stride I just kept going.”

 

Ayrault said he had never seen anything like it.

 

“Very instinctive on Dean’s part, coming from a catcher that knows usually the catcher’s got to cover third base (in that situation),” he said. “He’s a very intelligent player, and he came through with a clutch hit earlier in the game.”

 

Rosario earned the win after pitching one-hit ball over the final three innings and keeping a solid Great Falls’ offense from scoring anymore.

 

Afterward, the right-hander found out he had been promoted to Class A-Wisconsin.

 

“I feel good because I work for that, I work for playing in big league,” Rosario said.

[Mass Haas]

Trivia -- R.J. Seidel's middle initial isn't "J", it's "L".

 

"J" is for Junior, of which he is one. His father, Dick, pitched in the New York Yankees farm system.