X's Marsden blanks Shreveport, 6-0
By Terry Hersom, Journal sports editor | Posted: Monday, July 24, 2006
This was the Aaron Marsden who was once named Big 12 pitcher of the year and earned All-America plaudits at the University of Nebraska.
Brimming with renewed confidence, the king-sized lefthander mowed down the Shreveport Sports on Sunday, firing a complete-game shutout as the Sioux City Explorers picked up an encouraging 6-0 victory.
On the heels of two straight losses to the American Association's first-half North Division champs from Lincoln, the X's rebounded impressively in their first meeting with the league's other playoff-bound club.
Sioux City climbed back within one-half game of St. Paul in the North's second-half race at 9-8 after the Saints lost 3-1 Sunday in Lincoln.
Shreveport, which won a tightly bunched first-half race in the South, trotted out righthander Eric Wikstrom, sporting an 8-2 record that left him one win shy of the league high.
However, after being limited to one run and seven hits in two nights against Lincoln's Brian Rodaway and Lindsay Gulin, the Explorers were just a little better prepared for another of the league's most productive starters.
Much of that was Marsden's doing, limiting the Sports to five hits while striking out six and walking only one.
Aside from veteran leftfielder Todd Self, just one year removed from playing in the major leagues for the Houston Astros, the visitors were a combined 2-for-29 at the plate.
Self, meanwhile, was 3-for-3 with a walk in four plate appearances.
"I know I've been successful in the past and I know I just need to get back to the mentality of expecting to be successful, letting the defense do their work behind me,'' said Marsden, who pitched his way out of Lincoln's league-leading rotation earlier this season.
This was his seventh start for Sioux City and he's 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA overall. More importantly, though, he's 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in three tries since a nightmarish outing July 6 against St. Joseph. Those very same Blacksnakes mustered just one run in six innings off him in Marsden's last trip to the mound last Sunday.
"Obviously, it was just an outstanding job by Marsden,'' said X's Manager Ed Nottle. "He mixed it up good and he had good control of his offspeed.''
Wikstrom, meanwhile, battled control problems throughout a five-inning stint. After getting out of the first inning without any damage, he yielded single runs in each of his four remaining frames. The X's followed that with a two-run sixth off Leo Tyson.
Shreveport, falling to 7-10 for the second half, made things a little easier by committing three costly errors, including two on rightfielder Austin Easley, who had made just one miscue all season.
Easley's attempt at a basket catch was unsuccessful and the X's Jorge Moreno motored into scoring position on a two-base error after starting the home half of the second with a lazy looper to right field.
Wikstrom walked the next two batters, loading the bases, and Moreno trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Chris Grossman, lining a rocket that a retreating centerfielder Coby Smith chased down for the first out.
An even bigger inning fizzed when Alex Llanos bounced into an inning-ending double play for the fourth night in a row. However, things turned around considerably for Llanos in later innings.
In the third inning, the veteran second baseman followed a one-out double by Grossman with a run-scoring single that snapped a 0-for-16 drought. In the sixth, he sent a 3-1 pitch from Tyson over the wall in center field for his sixth home run of the year.
"It's been tough, I've been hitting the ball right at people quite a bit, but I've been trying,'' said Llanos, who was leading the league in batting at .361 before his recent struggles. "Billy (Williams, hitting coach) preaches to keep working, keep working. That's what I've been doing.''
Rookie shortstop J.J. Burress finished with three of nine hits for the X's and all three of them figured in the scoring.
Burress bunted his way on base for the second of three Sioux City hits in the third inning and Jake Daubert followed with a run-scoring liner to center field.
In the fifth, a smash off the bat of Burress short-hopped second baseman Neb Brown for a leadoff single, eventually leading to an unearned run on a wild throw by Brown, trying to turn an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth, Burress stroked his third hit to right field and picked up an RBI, chasing Zack Pace home from second base.
"We have a lot of confidence that we're going to win the second half,'' said Llanos, who raised his average back up to .330. "It's just a matter of hitting on all cylinders at the same time.''
Llanos gave plenty of credit for this one to Marsden, who helped his own cause with a couple of nifty plays on comebackers to the mound.
"It's huge,'' said Llanos. "We've been playing consistent baseball all season, but to have an outing like he had is very uplifting.''
After falling back to .500 for an incredible 18th time at 32-32, the X's again moved back above the break-even mark at 33-32. Shreveport, coincidentally, is also 33-32 overall.
"I think if we could ever get three or four over (.500) we might do something,'' said Nottle.
Karsten Gaarder (1-3, 5.55) gets the starting nod for the X's tonight in Game 2 of a three-game set. Shreveport will hand the ball to lefthander Bert Snow (5-3, 3.70).
X's AND OH's: The Explorers are now 28-8 when they score four or more runs and 25-7 when they limit an opponent to less than five. Those certainly seem to be the magic numbers this season. When Sioux City scores less than four, the record is only 5-24. And, when opponents score five or more, the mark is 8-25....
A big key for Marsden Sunday was keeping Smith and Brown off base. The first two batters in the Shreveport order are first (Smith, 32) and tied for third (Brown, 22) in the league in stolen bases....
Last in the league with 33 stolen bases before Sunday, the X's swiped three bags against the Sports. Meanwhile, the Llanos homer hiked Sioux City's league-leading total to 60, which is 14 more than anyone else has managed in a year when the long ball seems to be in short supply....
Llanos will actually have another home run to his credit when the X's complete a game suspended July 13 in Lincoln. A contest in which the Saltdogs own a 5-2 lead after three innings will be resumed as part of an abbreviated doubleheader during a four-game series starting Thursday in Lincoln....
Shreveport ranks third in the league in pitching and two big reasons are the two starters that won't face the X's in this series. Thomas Hendricks, 5-2 and third in the league with a 2.57 ERA, worked the Sports 10-2 win Saturday at Sioux Falls and veteran Bert Snow (5-3, 3.70) pitched in a loss Friday at the Bird Cage.
Brimming with renewed confidence, the king-sized lefthander mowed down the Shreveport Sports on Sunday, firing a complete-game shutout as the Sioux City Explorers picked up an encouraging 6-0 victory.
On the heels of two straight losses to the American Association's first-half North Division champs from Lincoln, the X's rebounded impressively in their first meeting with the league's other playoff-bound club.
Sioux City climbed back within one-half game of St. Paul in the North's second-half race at 9-8 after the Saints lost 3-1 Sunday in Lincoln.
Shreveport, which won a tightly bunched first-half race in the South, trotted out righthander Eric Wikstrom, sporting an 8-2 record that left him one win shy of the league high.
However, after being limited to one run and seven hits in two nights against Lincoln's Brian Rodaway and Lindsay Gulin, the Explorers were just a little better prepared for another of the league's most productive starters.
Much of that was Marsden's doing, limiting the Sports to five hits while striking out six and walking only one.
Aside from veteran leftfielder Todd Self, just one year removed from playing in the major leagues for the Houston Astros, the visitors were a combined 2-for-29 at the plate.
Self, meanwhile, was 3-for-3 with a walk in four plate appearances.
"I know I've been successful in the past and I know I just need to get back to the mentality of expecting to be successful, letting the defense do their work behind me,'' said Marsden, who pitched his way out of Lincoln's league-leading rotation earlier this season.
This was his seventh start for Sioux City and he's 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA overall. More importantly, though, he's 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in three tries since a nightmarish outing July 6 against St. Joseph. Those very same Blacksnakes mustered just one run in six innings off him in Marsden's last trip to the mound last Sunday.
"Obviously, it was just an outstanding job by Marsden,'' said X's Manager Ed Nottle. "He mixed it up good and he had good control of his offspeed.''
Wikstrom, meanwhile, battled control problems throughout a five-inning stint. After getting out of the first inning without any damage, he yielded single runs in each of his four remaining frames. The X's followed that with a two-run sixth off Leo Tyson.
Shreveport, falling to 7-10 for the second half, made things a little easier by committing three costly errors, including two on rightfielder Austin Easley, who had made just one miscue all season.
Easley's attempt at a basket catch was unsuccessful and the X's Jorge Moreno motored into scoring position on a two-base error after starting the home half of the second with a lazy looper to right field.
Wikstrom walked the next two batters, loading the bases, and Moreno trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Chris Grossman, lining a rocket that a retreating centerfielder Coby Smith chased down for the first out.
An even bigger inning fizzed when Alex Llanos bounced into an inning-ending double play for the fourth night in a row. However, things turned around considerably for Llanos in later innings.
In the third inning, the veteran second baseman followed a one-out double by Grossman with a run-scoring single that snapped a 0-for-16 drought. In the sixth, he sent a 3-1 pitch from Tyson over the wall in center field for his sixth home run of the year.
"It's been tough, I've been hitting the ball right at people quite a bit, but I've been trying,'' said Llanos, who was leading the league in batting at .361 before his recent struggles. "Billy (Williams, hitting coach) preaches to keep working, keep working. That's what I've been doing.''
Rookie shortstop J.J. Burress finished with three of nine hits for the X's and all three of them figured in the scoring.
Burress bunted his way on base for the second of three Sioux City hits in the third inning and Jake Daubert followed with a run-scoring liner to center field.
In the fifth, a smash off the bat of Burress short-hopped second baseman Neb Brown for a leadoff single, eventually leading to an unearned run on a wild throw by Brown, trying to turn an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth, Burress stroked his third hit to right field and picked up an RBI, chasing Zack Pace home from second base.
"We have a lot of confidence that we're going to win the second half,'' said Llanos, who raised his average back up to .330. "It's just a matter of hitting on all cylinders at the same time.''
Llanos gave plenty of credit for this one to Marsden, who helped his own cause with a couple of nifty plays on comebackers to the mound.
"It's huge,'' said Llanos. "We've been playing consistent baseball all season, but to have an outing like he had is very uplifting.''
After falling back to .500 for an incredible 18th time at 32-32, the X's again moved back above the break-even mark at 33-32. Shreveport, coincidentally, is also 33-32 overall.
"I think if we could ever get three or four over (.500) we might do something,'' said Nottle.
Karsten Gaarder (1-3, 5.55) gets the starting nod for the X's tonight in Game 2 of a three-game set. Shreveport will hand the ball to lefthander Bert Snow (5-3, 3.70).
X's AND OH's: The Explorers are now 28-8 when they score four or more runs and 25-7 when they limit an opponent to less than five. Those certainly seem to be the magic numbers this season. When Sioux City scores less than four, the record is only 5-24. And, when opponents score five or more, the mark is 8-25....
A big key for Marsden Sunday was keeping Smith and Brown off base. The first two batters in the Shreveport order are first (Smith, 32) and tied for third (Brown, 22) in the league in stolen bases....
Last in the league with 33 stolen bases before Sunday, the X's swiped three bags against the Sports. Meanwhile, the Llanos homer hiked Sioux City's league-leading total to 60, which is 14 more than anyone else has managed in a year when the long ball seems to be in short supply....
Llanos will actually have another home run to his credit when the X's complete a game suspended July 13 in Lincoln. A contest in which the Saltdogs own a 5-2 lead after three innings will be resumed as part of an abbreviated doubleheader during a four-game series starting Thursday in Lincoln....
Shreveport ranks third in the league in pitching and two big reasons are the two starters that won't face the X's in this series. Thomas Hendricks, 5-2 and third in the league with a 2.57 ERA, worked the Sports 10-2 win Saturday at Sioux Falls and veteran Bert Snow (5-3, 3.70) pitched in a loss Friday at the Bird Cage.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 1 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
Kelly Marsden wrote on Jul 24, 2006 2:37 AM: