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Webb, 3 New Orleans errors help Sheriffs catch Arizona to tie division race
SAN ANTONIO -- Brandon Webb knew the importance of his effort last night before the game ever started. "There's time left," he noted of the 36 games remaining. "But getting even with Arizona would sure ratchet up the pressure."
And with that, Webb hurled 8 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, scattering nine hits and walking five in a far from masterful performance, but one that saw him nimbly escape any jam in which he found himself.
The Knights, however, couldn't get out of their own way. Two unearned runs in the third inning on a pair of errors and another unearned run in the fifth on another error left pitcher Nick Altrock baffled and New Orleans unable to get the big hit to get back in the game.
With one out in the third, Rafael Furcal reached when Knights first baseman Prince Fielder simply dropped a throw to first from shortstop Ross Barnes. Jimmy Williams would double Furcal home for the game's first run. Then, after Hugh Duffy popped up, Fred Parent hit a comebacker to Altrock that he promptly threw down the rightfield line, allowing Williams to score.
The fifth inning saw Williams hit a two-out double that was followed by Lave Cross letting a Duffy grounder go through the wickets to give San Antonio a 3-0 lead. The Sheriffs would gain another run in the fourth after Tommy McCarthy doubled, stole third and then was balked home by Altrock.
Baserunning hurt the Knights, too, as Sam Thompson was thrown out in the 8th trying to stretch a double into a triple, and Lave Cross was thrown out with no outs in the 9th trying to go from first to third on a single in a 4-0 game.
"We shot ourselves in the foot a lot today," Altrock said after the game. "We can't afford to do that anymore."
Alston's notoriously crisp team was anything but last night, and their loss combined with Memphis' 13-inning win over Arizona put the Knights back to 9 1/2 games out of first.
The Sheriffs capitalized on the mistakes, and left the rest in Webb's hands. After stranding a runner on third in the first and runners on second and third in the second, Webb cruised until the 7th, when he got into a bases loaded jam. But Webb's signature sinker got Jack Rowe to ground to Furcal for a force to end the threat.
After Cross was thrown out at third in the ninth, Kyle Lohse relieved Webb to record the final two outs for the win, and a share of first place.