Stingers 4, Zephyrs 1
Ascension continued for the Salt Lake Stingers.
They moved into second place and extended the second-longest winning streak in team history to eight games with a 4-1 victory over New Orleans at Franklin Covey Field.
"We've expected to play better, and this is what it has come to," said Stingers manager Mike Brumley, whose squad improved to 23-24 while recovering from the franchise's slowest start. "We have a good work ethic on this team, and I expect them to have a great run in this division."
Though noting it's too early to tell if they'll be the team to beat in the PCL North, Brumley expects Salt Lake to compete the rest of the way. Players are taking ownership of roles and the team, as a whole, is settling into a comfort zone.
"When the guys get more comfortable," Brumley added, "obviously, their ability comes out."
On Saturday, Salt Lake picked up its sixth consecutive win over a first-place team. Starter Brandon Emanuel kept the East-leading Zephyrs in check by allowing just three hits and one run over eight complete innings. He evened his record to 3-3 with the longest outing by a Stingers pitcher this season.
The righthander was backed by his teammates, who provided ample offense and solid defense.
"Right now we're playing real well together in situational baseball," said Emanuel, who aggressively attacked the strike zone with his two-seam fastball.
Brumley credited the starter, who was relieved by closer Bart Miadich in the ninth, for good command of his pitches.
The Stingers never trailed after Gary Johnson put them on the board with a run-scoring single in the first. An inning later, a sacrifice fly by Wil Nieves doubled the lead.
Though New Orleans eventually pulled to within 2-1 on an RBI groundout by Kyle Logan in the fifth, Salt Lake quickly retaliated. Adam Riggs and Johnson knocked in runs with a double and single, respectively, to cap all scoring in the game before the inning was complete.
The blast by Riggs scored Stingers newcomer Adonis Harrison, who matched Johnson for team-high honors with two hits. The shortstop was sent to Salt Lake from Double-A Arkansas when Oscar Salazar opted to decline the promotion because of a situation involving his family. Salazar was granted his outright release by the Anaheim Angels despite leading Arkansas with a .329 batting average. He hit .308 in seven games with the Stingers earlier this season.
BEE LINES: The series continues today at 2 p.m. Salt Lake RHP Matt Hensley (3-2, 3.97 ERA) and New Orleans RHP Rodrigo Rosario (4-4, 2.60 ERA) are the scheduled starters . . . Brumley picked up his 100th victory as Salt Lake's manager on Friday. He's now 101-90 at the helm.
E-MAIL: dirk@desnews.com