Claws sweep Legends, close in on postseason
Lakewood's pitching has team on verge of first league title
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

With just 20 games left to play in the second half of the season, the Lakewood BlueClaws appear to be poised to collect their first championship.

Fresh off a four-game sweep of the first-half South Atlantic League North Division champion Lexington Legends, the BlueClaws' magic number has been cut to 15 as the regular season winds down.

And the four-game sweep of the Legends may have provided the BlueClaws with an added psychological advantage, as the two teams would meet in a best-of-three game series to start the postseason, should the BlueClaws hold onto their lead.

Lakewood has used some stellar pitching to emerge as the division's top team since the all-star break, and the emergence of the BlueClaws' staff has them knocking on the door to the postseason for the first time.

On Monday, Lakewood got a strong start from Ben Pfingraff, who just arrived from Batavia, N.Y., to top the Legends, 8-1. Pfingraff allowed one run over seven innings, striking out eight. A 22nd-round pick in June out of the University of Maryland, Pfingraff was impressive during his short stay in Batavia, and now offers the BlueClaws yet another strong arm, strengthening what was already a budding staff.

The BlueClaws got on the board in the second inning when Clay Harris' lead-off double sparked a three-run rally. The following inning, Lakewood added three more runs on a Harris RBI double and a two-run single from Welinson Baez.

Those runs were more than enough support for Pfingraff, who was used as a reliever at times in Batavia, but has seemed to cement his status as a starter with his recent impressive performances.

Monday's strong pitching performance came on the heels of one of the finest combined pitching efforts in BlueClaws history. In Sunday's 2-1 Lakewood win, Carlos Carrasco and Andy Barb combined to toss a no-hitter - the third in franchise history - with Carrasco going the first seven and Barb closing it out with two strong innings of work.

Carrasco started for Lakewood Sunday coming off a start in which he took a perfect game into the eighth inning against Asheville. He looked to be on his way to another great start Sunday as he struck out the first three batters Lexington sent to the plate. Carrasco also retired the first two batters in the top of the second but unraveled, beginning with a walk to Mark Ori. Eric King walked on a full-count pitch, and Ryan Reed was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carrasco walked the No. 9 batter in the Legends' order, David Kady, and forced in the game's first run without any hits in the inning. The BlueClaws escaped further harm when Carrasco punched out Nathan Warrick and left the bases full.

From there, Carrasco settled down, retiring 14 of the next 16 batters he faced, allowing two more walks, and left the game after seven innings of work with a no-hitter intact. Carrasco walked a total of five Legends while striking out nine.

Barb came to the mound to throw the final two frames, and other than two batters who reached base on errors, both by BlueClaws shortstop C.J. Henry, nobody reached for the Legends.

On offense, Lakewood benefited from some Lexington mistakes in the third inning to take the lead. Avelino Asprilla reached on an error by Legends third baseman Koby Clemens. Asprilla had to leave the game with some discomfort, and Cooper Osteen entered to pinch run. Michael Spidale beat out a nice bunt up the third base line for an infield single. With two outs, Clay Harris lifted the ball to right field and it was misplayed by Eli Iorg, and both Lakewood runners scored.

This is the third no-hitter in Lakewood history. The first came on April 12, 2001, by Keith Bucktrot in a seven-inning game. Gavin Floyd's no-hitter on July 24, 2002, was also against the Legends, but the BlueClaws lost the game 1-0.

Postseason tickets on sale

tomorrow

The BlueClaws are putting playoff tickets on sale in anticipation of the team playing in the postseason, with tickets going on sale to the public on Friday.

Tickets will be sold in packs that include all four possible home games during the playoffs.

"We are thrilled to be talking about the team making the playoffs this year," said Geoff Brown, BlueClaws general manager. "Our fans have already been asking us about tickets to playoff games, so this seems like a perfect time to put them on sale."

If the BlueClaws win the Northern Division in the second half, they would play the Lexington Legends in a best-of-three game series beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The Legends would have home field advantage for winning the first half of the SAL season and the final two games of the series would be played in Lexington.

The BlueClaws would then advance to play either the Rome Braves or the second-half winner in the Southern Division. Currently, the Augusta GreenJackets are leading the South Division by nine games. Lakewood would have home field advantage for the best-of-five game Championship Series. The first two games would be played away from FirstEnergy Park. The BlueClaws would return for game three on Thursday, Sept. 14. If necessary, games four and five would be played on Sept. 15 and 16.