Down to One
Lamb's walkoff pinch single trims Arizona's lead back to one
Sept. 7, 2009
SAN ANTONIO -- Mike Lamb yearned for this opportunity since he was sent back to the reserve roster two months ago.
Bottom of the ninth, game tied and minutes after learning the Arizona Sandmen had lost their game against Alabama, Lamb stepped in to the box with a chance to help the playoff push.
"I knew I'd be back September 1st," Lamb said after a double into the gap off Orlando Orcas closer Takashi Saito to score Scott Podsednik, giving San Antonio a 5-4 walkoff victory. "And I knew we'd be in the hunt. So I knew I'd have a chance to make a difference."
Lamb had been up with the Sheriffs in July when second baseman Jimmy Williams was put on the disabled list. He went 3-for-11 with a homer during his brief stay. Then the night of his return on Sept. 1, he homered in a 7-3 win at Indianapolis that, for 24 hours, put the Sheriffs in a tie with Arizona for first place.
But Arizona won its next four, and San Antonio lost a game of ground in the process before Lamb's hit combined with Arizona's 8-2 loss to Alabama last night bring the margin back to one.
At the heart of win was Podsednik, who has been a stunner this season. He had a rough August, hitting .241, and skipper Bobby Cox figured it was as good a day as any to give his sparkplug (.298 average, 58 steals) a day off. But in the ninth, Cox called on Podsednik to get things going and he did exactly that, grounding a single through the hole into left.
Podsednik would steal second before coming home on Lamb's gapper.
"I didn't need the day off anyway," he quipped after the game.
He doesn't figure to get any in the coming days, as San Antonio prepares to host four games against a suddenly desperate New Orleans Knights squad that is seeing its storybook comeback slip away.
"We're desperate, too," shot the suddenly productive Hugh Duffy, who hit .318 in August. "We're in a REAL pennant race," his emphasis a blatant dig on the New Orleans story some consider not a story.
Doc McJames (19-4, 1.92) goes for New Orleans against Joe McGinnity (13-11, 3.25) in the opener tonight. Brandon Webb (9-6, 3.76) hurls for the Sheriffs against Nick Altrock (11-14, 3.91) tomorrow, while Jim Whitney (4-5, 4.50) matches up against the Knights' Jack Chesbro (9-7, 2.77) on Wednesday. Strikeout leader Noodles Hahn (16-6, 2.39) pitches the finale for San Antonio against Rich Harden (11-9, 4.12).