7/17/2081 to 7/18/2081
The Denver Broncos (52-41)
AT
The Miami Dolphins (61-32)
Pitching Matchups:
LH Robert McNett (10-6, 4.74 ERA) VS. RH Jose Caceres (8-8, 3.44 ERA)
RH Larry Waltz (1-2, 3.13 ERA) VS. RH Mark Prior (8-4, 3.97 ERA)
Denver, winless against the Dolphins so far this season, got started early, with two runs in the second inning.
Russell Thomas homered in the 3rd to push the lead to 3-0, and
Joseph Swayze extended it to 4-0, with a home run in the fourth inning.
Robert McNett kept the Dolphins off the scoreboard until the 7th inning, when he allowed two runs. In the ninth, the Dolphins got another run across, and had the bases loaded before
James Virgen got the final out to preserve
the 4-3 victory. With the win, and Memphis' loss to Kansas City, the Broncos moved into a tie for second place in the division.
McNett finished with 6 1/3 innings pitched and 2 runs allowed. Swayze had 2 hits and 2 RBI.
******
The second game of the series will be another loss that stings for the Broncos.
Tomas Sato homered in the second inning to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. The score stayed that way until the 8th inning. Then, disaster struck. Waltz tired, a costly error by Asbel Fuentez blew the lead, and then
Ramon Gomez came in and was ineffective. When the dust had settled, the Dolphins had scored 6 runs, 3 of them unearned.
The smoking hot
Joseph Swayze made things mildly interesting by crushing a two run homer in the ninth, but the Broncos could come no closer in
the 6-3 defeat.
Waltz finished with 7 1/3 innings pitched, 5 runs allowed, 2 earned runs allowed.
Russell Thomas had 3 hits.