BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

KANNAPOLIS — It seemed like an honest question.

Brett Myers had just thrown a complete game. He had retired the final 16 Asheville Tourists he faced. He allowed just five hits, struck out seven, walked just one and allowed one measly run.

So it was not only an honest question, it was the appropriate one:

Was this your best pitching performance of the year?

“Obviously not,” sneered the Piedmont Boll Weevils ace. “I lost.”

An honest answer for an honest question.

Myers (11-5) shouldn’t have lost 1-0 Thursday night — but then again, Asheville pitcher Julio dePaula shouldn’t have lost either. He gave up five hits in seven innings, got out of his only jam and gained his sixth win against 10 defeats. No Weevil had more than one hit.

Asheville did put three singles together in the second for a run and the only offense of the game.

It was a crisp performance by both teams. The overall play by Asheville (23-11), which leads the Southern Division by 2 12 games, and Piedmont (20-13), which leads the Northern Division by 112, impressed both managers.

“That was a Triple-A-type game,” said Piedmont’s Greg Legg. “Both teams were on. The pitching and defense were great and the pitchers worked quickly.”

“We were very fortunate to get this first one,” said the Tourists’ Joe Mikulik. “It’s going to be one of those series. Hopefully, we can compete with these guys. Piedmont’s a top-notch club.”

With a top-notch starter that just didn’t get any offense to go with his superb pitching. Myers, the South Atlantic League’s winningest pitcher, tried to hide his frustration.

“They were just a little bit better than me tonight, I guess,” Myers sighed.

But just a little bit.

The only inning that mattered to the Tourists was the second, when Dan Phillips, Justin Lincoln and Sam Smith put together three straight singles for a 1-0 lead.

“They was little bloops and Texas Leaguers,” shrugged Myers.

The 2,263 fans on hand at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium didn’t seem too worried. Piedmont has a team batting average of .270 and has rallied time and again. The Weevils usually scoff at one-run deficits.

But dePaula wouldn’t allow anything.

Piedmont’s one shot came in the fifth. Brian Hitchcox and Jeremy Deitrick ripped one-out singles and a dePaula balk put runners on second and third with Juan Richardson at the plate.

“They were playing the infield back so if you put the ball in play, you score and tie it,” Legg said.

Richardson struck out, however, and Jay Sitzman grounded out to end the inning.

“We scored a lot of runs in the first half,” said Legg, whose team still has the best overall record in the league at 66-37. “In the second half, we haven’t scored like that. We’ve won with good pitching and good defense. We have to take advantage of the other team’s mistakes and tonight, Asheville didn’t make any.”

Myers didn’t make any more mistakes after the second. In fact, from the fourth inning on, no Tourist even reached. He coerced fly balls, grounders and made Asheville hitters look silly on occasion with a 94-mph fastball.

“I saw Myers starting against us and I didn’t want to face him,” Mikulik said. “You can’t say enough about him.”

Legg said Myers should perk up when he realizes just how good his performance was.

“He has nothing to be frustrated about,” said Legg. “All he can do is do his job.”

Pitching coach Rod Nichols echoed his manager’s thoughts.

“From my point of view, there were two balls hit hard off him, both changeups,” he said. “Four of the five hits were bloops and the other was a 3-2 line drive that he took something off. So hopefully, he’ll take the positives with him.”

In the bottom of the ninth, no one had given up, considering Piedmont’s 3-4-5 hitters came up to face closer Cam Esslinger. But Marlon Byrd, Nate Espy and Jorge Padilla went down harmlessly.

Myers, the 19-year-old millionaire, stalked off the field, but not before being stopped again near the clubhouse for another honest question:

How tough will it be to get over a loss like this?

“Tomorrow’s another day,” he said. “In five more days, I’ll throw again.”

And despite Thursday’s painful outcome, it was easy to tell he couldn’t wait for his next start. Honest.

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NOTES: Catcher Russ Jacobson sat in the stands last night with his mouth wired shut. He broke his jaw last week in a collision at home plate against Delmarva and is expected to be out at least three weeks. ... Going into last night, Sitzman had scored in seven straight games. That streak ended. ... Espy kept alive his hitting streak, which reached six. ... Myers, who started his 21st game, has thrown 136 innings, second in the league. Frankie Brooks (9-5, 3.32), tonight’s starter, is third with 132. ... Esslinger picked up his 20th save. “He wasn’t even our closer when the season started,” said Mikulik.