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| Pirates fall short in pitchers’ duel |
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| Written by Marc Aceves | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 23 July 2008 | |
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“We can’t ask for much more from (James Pease) than what he did for us today.” — Jose Garza Patterson Pirates coach  At work: Pirates pitcher James Pease fires a pitch during the team’s 4-0 loss to the Stockton Astros on Sunday at Stockton’s Stribley Field. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator In the end, the scales tipped toward the hometown Stockton Astros, who handed the Pirates their second straight loss, 4-0. For seven innings, Patterson’s James Pease and Stockton’s Steve Glaser were locked in a grueling pitchers’ duel. Then came the bottom of the eighth, when the Astros erupted for three runs to break open a 1-0 game. Patterson coach Jose Garza was not shy about expressing his disappointment with the team’s offense. “We can’t ask for much more from (Pease) than what he did for us today,” Garza said. “It’s too bad that we can’t put together any runs for him.” Garza said the Pirates are making too many outs by swinging at poor pitches — and from what he said, the problem might not fade away anytime soon. “We’re down in the dugout after a game like this,” Garza said. “This is enough already. We need to get on the ball. We need to do something different and start coming through at the plate.” Pease’s previous start — a brilliant shutout of the Stockton Shockers — was heralded by teammates as one of the best pitching performances of the season. The difference Sunday was the Pirates’ inability to lay the lumber on the ball.  Race to first: Patterson’s Tino Ramirez hustles toward first base as Stockton’s first baseman makes the out during Sunday's game. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator Still, Glaser had no trouble slamming the door shut in the ninth, retiring the top of the Pirates’ lineup in order. He scattered four hits and struck out nine. “I think that (the Pirates) got me out of a lot of tough situations at the plate by being overaggressive down the stretch,” Glaser said. “They may not have been selective enough at waiting to find their pitches. That really helped me out a lot.” Pease nearly worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the bottom of the third. But the Astros managed one run in the inning to take a 1-0 lead. Patterson’s biggest scoring threat came in the top of the seventh inning. Ruben Garza drew a walk — one of only two issued by Glaser — to start the inning. Teammate Jose Garza moved Ruben over to second base, laying down a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt that trickled gingerly along the first-base line. But overaggressive base running did in the Pirates’ would-be rally. Lozano ripped a line drive toward the shortstop. The ball was snared, and Ruben Garza — anticipating a base hit — was doubled up at second, keeping the Pirates off the scoreboard. “That double play really killed all of the momentum that we were trying to build,” Pease said. “We put ourselves in some bad situations today. Not having our bats to back us up didn’t help our cause, either.” Pease kept Patterson within striking distance until the eighth. The lefty struck out the first batter of the inning, but things quickly went awry. The Astros pelted back-to-back singles and secured another bases-loaded opportunity — this time with just one out — following Pease’s second walk of the game. Pease induced a potential inning-ending double play ball to second base. The Pirates’ second baseman stepped on the bag for the second out of the inning, but his throw to first was hurried and sailed high over the first baseman’s head. Two runs scored on the error, extending the Patterson deficit to 3-0. Stockton’s final run then came on an RBI single to center field. “It’s definitely frustrating when we go out and make little mistakes that end up costing us games,” Pease said. “Every week is going to be a fight in this league. We can’t be the ones to do ourselves in.” To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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