X's snap losing skid
By Terry Hersom Journal sports editor | Posted: Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The gloom finally lifted Monday night and there were happy faces again in the Sioux City Explorers' clubhouse.
Ty Marotz pitched eight strong innings while rookies Dustin Jones and Nick McCoola rapped three hits apiece as the X's opened a seven-game homestand with a 6-1 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries.
While snapping a six-game winning streak for the Canaries, Manager Ed Nottle's troops broke out of a six-game slide that included three losses each to Sioux Falls and the Lincoln Saltdogs, the American Association's North Division frontrunners.
"Obviously, Ty Marotz pitched a great game tonight,'' said Nottle. "One game doesn't mean anything, but we really needed this tonight.''
Marotz, squaring his record at 2-2, surrendered just five hits while limiting the dangerous Sioux Falls lineup to a fourth-inning solo home run by Will Smith.
The converted reliever, coming off a 6-2 loss to Lincoln last Wednesday, struck out six batters and walked two while piling up 123 pitches on a night when Nottle had limited options in the bullpen.
"My arm actually feels pretty good,'' said Marotz, a Chicago-area native who pitched collegiately at Arizona State. "It didn't absolutely feel perfect, but what night does it ever?
"A lot of the credit goes to (catcher) Mike Richardson. We've played these guys so many times already, you get a feel for what you can and can't do. Mike makes it easy. He calls a great game.''
Nottle, though, also pointed to an improved mindset from his entire team.
"We had meetings in the dugout today and talked about how we were first and second in the league in drawing walks,'' said Nottle. "We're first or second in fewest errors and we're first and second in striking out the fewest times.
"We do all those things well, but we don't have a plan for other things. You can tell when people aren't thinking. You don't get up 3-0 in a game and then go 2-and-0 on the next batter. That's not a plan, that's losing baseball.''
On this night, the X's made the most of those little things the skipper had wanted to see. And, it didn't hurt that they had another error-free outing while the Canaries committed four errors.
Although Sioux Falls (18-6) is just one game behind Lincoln (18-4) - a win would have pulled the Canaries into a first-place tie with the idle Saltdogs - the Birds have now made 41 errors in 24 games. The X's, by comparison, have made just 19 while charting a 7-17 mark with the 96-game schedule now one-fourth of the way over.
Getting a fast start was certainly important. Scoreless in the first inning the last 15 games in a row, the Explorers jumped on top 2-0 this time after Jason Tuttle's infield single led things off.
Tuttle's seventh stolen base paved the way to the first run on Nick McCoola's bouncer through the middle of the diamond. Later in the inning, after Jorge Moreno's slide prevented an inning-ending double play, a two-out single by Alex Llanos drove home the hosts' second run.
Jones, a former Metro Athlete of the Year at Bishop Heelan, stroked his first of three singles with one away in the second. And, he scored to make it 3-0 when a grounder by Tuttle scooted under the glove of second baseman David Keesee for the first of four Sioux Falls errors.
After Smith's fifth homer of the year pulled the visitors within 3-1 in the fourth, it was a scoreless until the X's scraped up three more runs in the eighth off reliever Aaron Garrison.
Garrison took over for starter Micah Posey with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh, getting the dangerous Moreno to break his bat on an inning-ending grounder.
In the eighth, though, Julian Benavidez singled, Llanos walked and the sacks were full again after first baseman Abner Arroyo threw late to third base, trying to nail the lead runner on a bunt by Mike Richardson.
Brandon Jones came through with a clutch sacrifice fly, lofting a 1-2 pitch to medium-deep left field, then Dustin Jones singled down the right-field line to drive home Llanos.
Dustin Jones, fresh off a college career in which he became Wayne State's all-time hits leader, also came around to score on the Canaries' final error of the night, a wild throw by third baseman Matt Imwalle.
In addition, the former Heelan standout made a clutch sliding catch for the second out in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for X's reliever Rory James.
"I'm just trying to keep the same approach as I have for the last few years,'' said Dustin Jones, who is now 8-for-21 while backing up regular rightfielder Pete Pirman. "It's easy to get your confidence up with a guy like Ed Nottle managing you. The guys have been real helpful, making me feel comfortable. That's big, too.''
The perfect ninth inning for James represented a welcome rebound from the traumatic five-run ninth inning last Thursday, when the X's blew a 6-5 lead and dropped a 10-7 series finale with Lincoln.
In the fifth of seven consecutive meetings between the I-29 rivals - and the second of four in a row at Lewis and Clark Park - veteran Brad Guy takes the hill for the X's tonight, squaring off with former major league Pat Mahomes of Sioux Falls.
X's AND OH's: It was just the third time all season the Explorers have manufactured runs in the first inning. They'd been blanked in the first frame 15 games in a row since scoring twice in the first inning on May 17, a game in which they squandered n early 5-1 lead while losing 8-6 to Sioux Falls....
Smith's fourth-inning homer marked the 34th of the season for the Canaries, the runaway league leaders in a department Sioux City led last season. With 16 homers, the X's came into Monday's action tied with St. Paul as a distant second in the league....
While getting two-thirds of their nine hits from the rookies, Dustin Jones and McCoola, the X's biggest guns, Moreno and Jake Daubert, were both hitless. Moreno came into the game batting .356 after a torrid .439 stretch (29 of 66) over the last 18 games while Daubert had hit .348 (24 of 69) over his last 13 contests....
This was only the 10th time in 24 games that Sioux City has mustered more than four runs. The X's are 6-4 when they score more than four, but they're 1-13 when they manage four or less....
Tuttle went had two hits in five at-bats while also reaching twice on errors. It was a welcome sign for the former Can-Am League all-star, whose average had dropped 62 points to .266 in the last seven games. Tuttle was batting .241 early last season for the New Jersey Jackals, then went 27-for-58 in the next 13 games....
Brian Hewitt, slated to be the X's closer, was finally activated from the disabled list Monday, but Nottle was pleased that a strong outing from James didn't make it necessary to throw Hewitt directly into the fire Monday night.
Ty Marotz pitched eight strong innings while rookies Dustin Jones and Nick McCoola rapped three hits apiece as the X's opened a seven-game homestand with a 6-1 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries.
While snapping a six-game winning streak for the Canaries, Manager Ed Nottle's troops broke out of a six-game slide that included three losses each to Sioux Falls and the Lincoln Saltdogs, the American Association's North Division frontrunners.
"Obviously, Ty Marotz pitched a great game tonight,'' said Nottle. "One game doesn't mean anything, but we really needed this tonight.''
Marotz, squaring his record at 2-2, surrendered just five hits while limiting the dangerous Sioux Falls lineup to a fourth-inning solo home run by Will Smith.
The converted reliever, coming off a 6-2 loss to Lincoln last Wednesday, struck out six batters and walked two while piling up 123 pitches on a night when Nottle had limited options in the bullpen.
"My arm actually feels pretty good,'' said Marotz, a Chicago-area native who pitched collegiately at Arizona State. "It didn't absolutely feel perfect, but what night does it ever?
"A lot of the credit goes to (catcher) Mike Richardson. We've played these guys so many times already, you get a feel for what you can and can't do. Mike makes it easy. He calls a great game.''
Nottle, though, also pointed to an improved mindset from his entire team.
"We had meetings in the dugout today and talked about how we were first and second in the league in drawing walks,'' said Nottle. "We're first or second in fewest errors and we're first and second in striking out the fewest times.
"We do all those things well, but we don't have a plan for other things. You can tell when people aren't thinking. You don't get up 3-0 in a game and then go 2-and-0 on the next batter. That's not a plan, that's losing baseball.''
On this night, the X's made the most of those little things the skipper had wanted to see. And, it didn't hurt that they had another error-free outing while the Canaries committed four errors.
Although Sioux Falls (18-6) is just one game behind Lincoln (18-4) - a win would have pulled the Canaries into a first-place tie with the idle Saltdogs - the Birds have now made 41 errors in 24 games. The X's, by comparison, have made just 19 while charting a 7-17 mark with the 96-game schedule now one-fourth of the way over.
Getting a fast start was certainly important. Scoreless in the first inning the last 15 games in a row, the Explorers jumped on top 2-0 this time after Jason Tuttle's infield single led things off.
Tuttle's seventh stolen base paved the way to the first run on Nick McCoola's bouncer through the middle of the diamond. Later in the inning, after Jorge Moreno's slide prevented an inning-ending double play, a two-out single by Alex Llanos drove home the hosts' second run.
Jones, a former Metro Athlete of the Year at Bishop Heelan, stroked his first of three singles with one away in the second. And, he scored to make it 3-0 when a grounder by Tuttle scooted under the glove of second baseman David Keesee for the first of four Sioux Falls errors.
After Smith's fifth homer of the year pulled the visitors within 3-1 in the fourth, it was a scoreless until the X's scraped up three more runs in the eighth off reliever Aaron Garrison.
Garrison took over for starter Micah Posey with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh, getting the dangerous Moreno to break his bat on an inning-ending grounder.
In the eighth, though, Julian Benavidez singled, Llanos walked and the sacks were full again after first baseman Abner Arroyo threw late to third base, trying to nail the lead runner on a bunt by Mike Richardson.
Brandon Jones came through with a clutch sacrifice fly, lofting a 1-2 pitch to medium-deep left field, then Dustin Jones singled down the right-field line to drive home Llanos.
Dustin Jones, fresh off a college career in which he became Wayne State's all-time hits leader, also came around to score on the Canaries' final error of the night, a wild throw by third baseman Matt Imwalle.
In addition, the former Heelan standout made a clutch sliding catch for the second out in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for X's reliever Rory James.
"I'm just trying to keep the same approach as I have for the last few years,'' said Dustin Jones, who is now 8-for-21 while backing up regular rightfielder Pete Pirman. "It's easy to get your confidence up with a guy like Ed Nottle managing you. The guys have been real helpful, making me feel comfortable. That's big, too.''
The perfect ninth inning for James represented a welcome rebound from the traumatic five-run ninth inning last Thursday, when the X's blew a 6-5 lead and dropped a 10-7 series finale with Lincoln.
In the fifth of seven consecutive meetings between the I-29 rivals - and the second of four in a row at Lewis and Clark Park - veteran Brad Guy takes the hill for the X's tonight, squaring off with former major league Pat Mahomes of Sioux Falls.
X's AND OH's: It was just the third time all season the Explorers have manufactured runs in the first inning. They'd been blanked in the first frame 15 games in a row since scoring twice in the first inning on May 17, a game in which they squandered n early 5-1 lead while losing 8-6 to Sioux Falls....
Smith's fourth-inning homer marked the 34th of the season for the Canaries, the runaway league leaders in a department Sioux City led last season. With 16 homers, the X's came into Monday's action tied with St. Paul as a distant second in the league....
While getting two-thirds of their nine hits from the rookies, Dustin Jones and McCoola, the X's biggest guns, Moreno and Jake Daubert, were both hitless. Moreno came into the game batting .356 after a torrid .439 stretch (29 of 66) over the last 18 games while Daubert had hit .348 (24 of 69) over his last 13 contests....
This was only the 10th time in 24 games that Sioux City has mustered more than four runs. The X's are 6-4 when they score more than four, but they're 1-13 when they manage four or less....
Tuttle went had two hits in five at-bats while also reaching twice on errors. It was a welcome sign for the former Can-Am League all-star, whose average had dropped 62 points to .266 in the last seven games. Tuttle was batting .241 early last season for the New Jersey Jackals, then went 27-for-58 in the next 13 games....
Brian Hewitt, slated to be the X's closer, was finally activated from the disabled list Monday, but Nottle was pleased that a strong outing from James didn't make it necessary to throw Hewitt directly into the fire Monday night.
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