Broncos survive feisty Predators
5/12/2083
Al Vincent
Staff Writer
With a three game series against Washington lurking ahead, the Broncos expected Nashville to be a slight breather after their six game stretch against Miami and Atlanta, but the Predators were determined not to get pushed around. Denver drew first blood in the first game of the series, scoring a pair of runs in the third inning. Nashville cut it to 2-1 in the fifth inning before the Broncos broke the game open with a 6 run seventh inning. The Predators responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to keep things interesting. Denver pushed it to 9-4 in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Nashville threatened to rally, scoring twice before finally giving up the ghost. Despite managing only one hit between them, Ruben Diaz, Michael Phillips, and Jack Rumfelt combined for 6 runs batted in, each of them collecting two apiece.
The Broncos were unexpectedly shut down by Nashville's Steffen Snow in the second game of the series, as he blanked them for the first five innings. The Predators managed a couple of runs in that time period, which wound up being enough to defeat Denver, as the Broncos managed only a single run in the game. Alexis Vazquez had 3 hits and drove in the only run, but none of Denver's other hitters bothered to show up.
In the final game of the series, the Broncos trailed 1-0 through four innings, but erupted for 4 runs in the fifth inning. Nashville kept it close, though, with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Denver added a run in the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead. The Predators threatened in the ninth, scoring one run, but their rally fell short. James Myatt made his first start of the season, and though he was able to keep Nashville off the scoreboard for the most part (3 runs allowed in 7 2/3 innings), manager John Wilkerson said that he "needs to be more efficient with his pitches." Despite the respectable runs allowed total, Myatt allowed 7 hits and 5 walks- not the kind of numbers that will lead to consistent success. Russell Thomas had 4 hits in the contest, while Jack Rumfelt had 2 hits and 2 RBI.
After a well-deserved day off today, the Broncos will begin a stretch that pits them against the best team in Southeast(Washington at 23-13), as well as the second and third place teams in their own division(Grand Rapids at 21-15 and Tucson at 18-18).
The Senators enter this two game set against the Broncos second in runs scored and tied for eighth in runs allowed. They are also tied for first in homeruns. Leading the Washington attack are left-fielder Leon Pino and third-baseman Mike Sanders. Pino, owner of 572 career homeruns, has a .927 OPS and 12 homeruns so far this season. He leads the league with 41 runs batted. Sanders, meanwhile, has bounced back from two sub-.800 OPS seasons to put up a .995 OPS this season. Like Pino, Sanders has 12 homeruns. Sanders is second in the league in runs batted in, with 39.
On the mound, Cleveland Lauria, Kenneth Thurman, and Juan Fuentes have all posted sub-4.00 ERAs and are a combined 15-6 for Washington. The expected starters for this series are Otis Smith (2-1, 6.48 ERA) and the left-handed Thurman (6-1, 3.09 ERA, and a league-leading 59 strikeouts).
On the mound for Denver will be Ray Lockridge (4-3, 3.12 ERA) and Robert McNett (6-0, 3.47 ERA).
The Broncos' hitter to pay attention to right now is Michael Phillips. Phillips has hit a ridiculous .447/.532/.658/1.190 so far in the month of May. Last week, he was 10 for 25, with 8 walks, 2 doubles, 5 RBI, and 6 runs scored.