The Bulls and the Red Wings both arrived at Eliot Field last night with a perfect 5-0 record through the first three weeks of the season. The Bulls were atop the American Division by a game, and the Wings were leading the National Division by two. Both teams featured an arsenal of hard-throwing pitchers, exceptional defense, and an impressive group of hitters who had done more than their share of damage to both divisions.
The Bulls were coming off an astounding 20-0 victory the night before. The Red Wings had won their Saturday afternoon game with pitching and defense. This one promised to be a battle for the ages.
One complete inning was already in the books. Back on May 7, our game was interrupted by a thunderstorm at the top of the second inning. Both starting pitchers looked razor-sharp before the rain delay. In the Red Wings' half of the first, Sam and Tom managed to threaten, each rocketing singles up the middle, but the Bulls starter was able to get out of the inning unscathed. The Wings sent Jack to the hill. He displayed a dominant fastball, striking out one and getting two to ground to first where Will recorded the unassisted outs.
Flash forward two weeks, and we were ready to pick up where the Bulls and Wings had left off. Top of the second, no score. Parker led off with a single. The Bulls had their ace on the mound, and he was firing bullets, yet Ken showed great poise and managed to put himself on base with a full-count walk. Two on and two out for Micah. Micah put good wood on the first pitch and smashed a screamer in the general vicinity of the Bulls' shortstop, who amazingly got some leather on it and flipped to third for the force that ended the inning. A lot of excitement, but no runs. Scoreless through one and a half.
Jack would remain the starter for the Wings. He took the hill and promptly got right back to the business of scorching batters with his smoking fastball. He struck out the side with impressive efficiency. Three up, three down. No score through two.
The Bulls retired the Wings in order in the top of the third. Jack struck out the side in the bottom half. No score through three.
Tom stepped in to lead off the top of the fourth. He connected on the first pitch and sent a shot up the middle into center field. It was good for a single. One on, nobody out. Jack worked a walk and Will was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out for Parker. Parker sent a pitch on the outside corner to right, and Tom scored from third. Jack made a good effort to follow Tom but was tagged out on a close play at the plate.
The Wings were on the board, 1-0.
A pair of crack plays at shortstop helped the Red Wings out of the fourth inning. Parker ranged into shallow left field to haul in a fly ball and then lunged for a hard line drive by the next batter. Jack struck out the third looking.
The Red Wings threatened again in the fifth. Alejandro, who seems to be developing a knack for getting on base, worked a leadoff walk. Ken kept the line moving with a full count walk of his own to put two on with nobody out. Micah made very solid contact again, launching a line drive up the middle, but fell victim to some excellent glove work by the Bulls' pitcher. One down. Drew showed great discipline at the plate, laying off three balls and making the pitcher work. With the count full, he took a strike on the outside corner. Two down. It was up to Alex to produce some insurance for the Red Wings. He worked the count full and then hit a laser to the shortstop who made a spectacular backhanded stop and flipped to third to get the force. Inning over. Good at-bats throughout, but the Red Wings could not get anyone across the plate in the fifth, and the score would remain 1-0, Wings.
Three innings of work under his belt (plus the one back on May 7), and Jack was showing so signs of slowing down. In fact his velocity and command seemed to be improving with each inning. Throwing only 13 pitches in the fifth inning, he struck out the heart of the Bulls order and delivered the game into the final inning.
Eric led off the sixth a rocket up the middle, but the pitcher stabbed it and fired to first for the out. The next two batters would go down in order, dashing any hopes of insurance for the Red Wings as they enter the bottom of the sixth.
There was only one question circulating in the Bulls' dugout: who would come out to pitch the sixth? That same question was on the mind of Red Wings managers. There was a slim one-run cushion and no margin for error against the Bulls' powerhouse lineup. Yet, the Wings remained confident. They had reason to be. Will was warming in the Wings' bullpen with a fastball sharp as a Samurai's blade. Eric, the flame-throwing lefty, was also available. And Jack, who had only thrown 57 pitches, was well under his limit and still exhibiting dominant stuff. This was every manager's dream: three of the league's best pitchers at your disposal and only one inning left to survive.
It was Jack who got the ball. He had been in a zone all evening--why mess with that? If he ran into trouble or if he reached his pitch count, then we could send Will or Eric to finish the job.
Jack took the mound and promptly threw two strikes by the Bulls' leadoff hitter. The third strike, though, met solid wood and bounded towards Parker at shortstop. Parker scooped it and fired to Sam at first. Well-executed, but the runner was safe by half a step. A leadoff single for the Bulls, and an ominous silence fell over the Wings' dugout. With the top of the Bulls lineup just three batters away, the tying run at first and nobody out, Jack knew what he had to do: lock in and throw strikes. He did just that. With nine pitches he retired the next three batters--three Ks for the save, the win, and the first complete game shutout by any AA pitcher this season.
This was a classic pitcher's duel, but no pitcher's duel is really a duel between pitchers only. In this case, Jack was supported by an outstanding performance behind the plate by catchers Ken and Josh. Both offered steady targets all evening and stopped just about every pitch. Consistently solid play in the field kept Jack's pitch count down. And, of course, no matter how good the pitching is, you can't score a single run from the mound. Tom's single and Parker's RBI double in the fourth combined to produce the Wing's only run. It was enough.
The game ball went to Jack, who pitched the complete game, recording a team-record 14 Ks. Parker earned the Habit Award for being down for every pitch at shortstop.
