KANNAPOLIS – May has brought out the best in Boll Weevils pitcher Greg Kubes. The strapping left-hander earned his
fourth victory this month Monday night at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, where he put on
clinic for the visiting Savannah Sand Gnats.
‘‘He was
dominant,’’ Manager Ken Oberkfell said after second-place Piedmont (25-19)
gained an efficient 3-1 South Atlantic League win. ‘‘He had great stuff. He was
around the plate all night, he mixed his pitches well and just basically kept them
off-balance.’’
Kubes (6-2, 2.25 ERA) gave the
Weevils a Texas-sized boost with his 118-pitch, complete-game four-hitter. The 22-year old
had 12 strikeouts and seven 1-2-3 innings as Piedmont won its third straight game and 10th
in the past 12.
‘‘I’m glad
it’s all happening for us,’’ said Kubes, who retired 16 consecutive batters
between the first and sixth innings. ‘‘I really felt good today. The first
inning was rough because I was trying to nibble and establish the strike zone. The umpire
wasn’t giving me any low strikes but he had a good corner. Once I found my rhythm and
adjusted to the umpire, I was really comfortable out there.’’
That was Gnat good news for the
visitors, who reached Kubes for their only run in the top of the first. It started when
Pedro Guerrero drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on teammate Derek Ottovere’s
base hit. Cleanup hitter Travis Hafner then sliced a fly ball that left-fielder Shomari
Beverly dropped for a run-scoring error.
‘‘‘(Kubes)
started out working a little too fine,’’ said Piedmont pitching coach Carlos
Arroyo. ‘‘Both hits in the first inning came on breaking balls. But after that
he had the fastball working on both sides of the plate. And that’s what we stressed.
If you’re going to be a major league pitcher, you’ve got to have good command of
your fastball. It’s still the best pitch in the game.’’
Kubes’ best pitches came in
the second inning when he struck out the side in order, and later in the seventh when he
escaped a second-and-third-with-one-out jam by fanning Cesar Castaneda and Rafael Cruz.
‘‘It’s all about
rhythm and working quickly,’’ said catcher Jeremy Salazar. ‘‘A lot of
times Greg knew what I was going to call before I even called it. We were on the same
page. We started that last guy off with off-speed pitches just to keep him guessing. Then
we froze him with the fastball, which was very deceiving tonight.’’
The Weevils tied the score in
the last of the second against Savannah’s Andy Pratt, a hard-throwing lefty who
struck out 10 in six innings. Outfielder Alejandro Giron – a part-time player who
went 3-for-4 and knocked in two runs in Sunday’s 4-2 win – drove a solo home run
over the Piedmont bullpen in right field. Though he’s appeared in only 19 games,
Giron boasts a team-best .309 batting average.
‘‘He’s turning
into a regular player,’’ said Oberkfell. ‘‘He’s gonna start
getting a lot more playing time. It may be in left, it may be in right, it may be DH
because he is swinging the bat well.’’
There was more of that in the
Piedmont third. Ambiorix Reyes legged out a leadoff triple into the right-field corner and
scored the go-ahead run when Alex Fajardo pushed a soft single beyond the reach of
second-baseman Guerrero.
Nate Espy played insurance man
in the last of the fifth when Piedmont manufactured its final run. After Jason Johnson
bunted for a base hit and was sacrificed to second by Fajardo, Espy grounded a two-out,
run-scoring single to right.
‘‘That third run was
really big,’’ said Oberkfell. ‘‘You’re gonna start seeing more of
that. If guys get on I’m gonna bunt them over and take my chances. With our pitching
staff, one or two runs can win ballgames.’’
This one was secured when Kubes
retired the last nine Savannah hitters – three on strikeouts, three on groundouts and
three on routine flies to Johnson in center field.
‘‘It’s really
coming together,’’ said Salazar. ‘‘The whole pitching staff is
clicking. And if they can go out there knowing we’re gonna score a few runs,
there’s no telling how many games we can stay in.’’
NOTES: Kubes’ 12
strikeouts is a season high for a Piedmont pitcher. Multiple pitchers have fanned 15
batters once, 13 twice and 12 eight times. ... Pratt (3-2) now leads the SAL with 79
strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. ... Espy extended his hitting streak to seven games. ...
The Weevils promoted North Carolina native Clay Eason to Clearwater of the Class A Florida
State League. He made 10 relief appearances and struck out 33 in 20 2/3 innings. Replacing
him on the roster is right-handed starter Jeremy Wedel. ... The homestand concludes
tonight when Derrick Turnbow (4-2, 4.47 ERA) opposes Savannah’s Frankie McGill (3-3,
3.18). |
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