AT YORK REVOLUTION
Bryan Edwards (5-3, 7.77 ERA) vs.
James Lira (4-4, 6.25 ERA)
The Barnstormers will try to snap their four-game losing streak and avoid falling nine games out in the South Division tonight. Perhaps the news that Reggie Taylor has agreed to contract terms will provide a boost. Nothing else has to this point. Lancaster continues to struggle on the road — with just eight wins in 29 games. That’s just another item on a long list of issues for this team.
Pre-game notes:
– Taylor’s addition should completely change the complexion of the lineup. The center fielder can bat leadoff and provide a jumpstart with his speed or he can bat third or fourth and serve as a run producer. Taylor was easily one of the five best players in the Atlantic League last season and should have won player of the year honors.
– Jeremy Todd is having a horrible July. The first baseman is hitting .186 with no homers and five RBIs in 20 games. The Barnstormers count on Todd being one of the best sluggers around. When he doesn’t hit, the offense just isn’t the same.
– Here’s an amazing stat: The Barnstormers have one pitcher with an ERA below 3.88. That’s closer Derrick DePriest. The collective struggles of the pitching staff — particularly the rotation — is something that defies explanation. Whom would you rather have … Lancaster’s Josh 
Stevens, Rob Henkel, Gustavo Martinez, Brett Evert and James Lira or York’s Frank Castillo, David Maust, Chris Steinborn, Byron Batson and Bryan Edwards? York’s group has fared better recently, which is why the Atlantic League is so unpredictable.
– Lira’s ERA as a starter is 4.64, although he’s coming off an eight-walk performance against Bridgeport on Sunday. That was the last game the Barnstormers won before manager Frank Klebe’s dismissal.
– York’s Peter Bergeron was picked up by the Pirates even though the center fielder has a .750 OPS. If you want a center fielder for Double-A, doesn’t Jutt Hileman make more sense? It pays to have that big-league name. Ask Bo Hart.
Lineups:
STORMERS (3-11): Mike Woods, 2B; Danny Gonzalez, SS; Jutt Hileman, CF; Dominick Ambrosini, LF; Jeremy Todd, 1B; Felix Martinez, 3B; Lance Burkhart, C; Eric Crozier, DH; Chris Van Rossum, RF.
REVOLUTION (11-3): Keoni De Renne, 2B; Rayner Bautista, SS; Nate Espy, 1B; Justin Singleton, CF; Matt Dryer, DH; Jason Aspito, RF; Luis Cotto, 3B; Luis Taveras, C; Kaz Tanaka, LF.
Scoring summary …
FINAL: Barnstormers 6, Revolution 5
Stormers 3rd: Gonzalez’s double scores Crozier.
Barnstormers lead 1-0.
Stormers 5th: Burkhart hits solo home run. Woods’ triple scores Van Rossum. Gonzalez’s double scores Woods. Gonzalez scores on wild pitch.
Barnstormers lead 5-0.
Revs 6th: Espy’s double scores De Renne.
Barnstormers lead 5-1.
Stormers 7th: Ambrosini’s double scores Gonzalez.
Barnstormers lead 6-1.
Revs 9th: Cotto’s walk scores Singleton. Taveras’ single scores Dryer. Aspito scores on Gonzalez’s fielding error. De Renne’s walk scores Cotto.
Barnstormers win 6-5.
RECORD: 4-11 (33-45)
PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Lira (7 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts).
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Lira led the way. He controlled York’s red-hot lineup and helped hand the Revs just their fifth loss in the last 20 games. Lira has been Lancaster’s best starter over the last month. Since joining the rotation on June 16, the former closer is 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA. That’s pretty good in this league.
*Except for Brett Evert’s poor performance on Thursday, the starting pitching has been strong this week. Lira, Rob Henkel and Gustavo Martinez each had quality starts. Maybe that will become a trend. The Barnstormers sure hope so.
*Dominick Ambrosini went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. He remains Lancaster’s only .300 hitter and is one of two players slugging over .500. Ambro is now batting .313.
*Lance Burkhart belted home run No. 10. The catcher is primarily a pull hitter, so he’s a perfect fit for Sovereign Bank Stadium. Burkhart hasn’t missed a beat since his extended stay on the disabled list. He has five homers in his last 15 games.
*Ryan Harris worked a 1-2-3 eighth. It was the second time in seven appearances that Harris didn’t allow a run. Both of those outings lasted one inning.
*Reggie Taylor verbally agreed to contract terms. He has yet to officially sign. The Barnstormers hope Taylor can join the team Thursday or Friday in Lancaster.
*The Barnstormers snapped their four-game losing streak and moved back within seven games of first-place York. The Revs still lead the Community Cup series 8-7. The teams will meet for the final time Aug. 26-28. Hopefully, Lancaster can make those games meaningful.
*York’s not-so-deep starting rotation was finally exposed by the Barnstormers. Bryan Edwards, tonight’s starter, was tagged for five runs in five innings. Edwards is this year’s recipient of the BASA travel award. The righthander has played for Camden, Bridgeport and York this season.
*Rick Wise captured his first win since becoming interim manager Monday. The Barnstormers were outscored 30-5 in Wise’s first four games at the helm, so this was a much-needed turn of events.
*A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Since Lancaster is about that far out of first place, that seemed appropriate here. This was one incredibly shaky first step.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Things got more than a little scary in the ninth. With closer Derrick DePriest on the mound, four walks and two errors allowed York to cut Lancaster’s 6-1 deficit to one run. The Revs had the bases loaded with one out when Rayner Bautista lined into a double play to end the threat. This could have been the biggest debacle in a miserable season, but the Barnstormers somehow escaped.
*It was a rare off night for DePriest. He issued four walks and four runs — one earned.
*Mike Woods and Danny Gonzalez made the errors. Woods’ came with one out and no one on base and seemed to open the door to York’s big inning.
*The collective heart rates of Lancaster’s fans probably reached unhealthy levels in the ninth.
*Ambrosini missed first base on an apparent RBI double. It cost Lancaster a run and was the only blemish on a great night for the Barnstormers’ left fielder.
As I posted on Taylor is coming back…when your hitting 29 points below the opposition …your pitching sucks Jason.
If it wasn’t for the Road Warriors we’d be the worse in that stat..but they are hitting 32 points less than the opposition…funny the Ducks are 5 points less too but they are a winning team. Every other team hits better than their opponents. Newark is .295 against .259
I may be wrong on this but I will give you a reason why Jutt Hileman is still here. First, you are right about the name. He has no history. The next part is that he does not stand out. He does not do one thing great. He does everything very good. He just goes to the ballpark and gets the job done. That is really the only reason I can say why he is not in some major league team’s system. I really think he deserve a chance.
Pitching and hitting are correlated. They don’t exist in a vacuum. Part of the reason opposing teams have better batting averages is because they have better hitters. For most of this season, the Barnstormers’ opponents have put a better lineup on the field. That’s undeniable.
I’d agree about Hileman. He does many things very well but nothing outstanding. One big strike against him is he’s 26 and has never played above High-A.
I agree on Jutt. He is a solid player that hopefully someone takes a look at next year. Don’t take him now, we may need him for the playoffs! GO STORMERS!!!!!!!
One other thing about the pitching: The Barnstormers know it’s lacking and they’re trying to address it. I expect some changes in that area.
I agree with what you said Jason but the 1st half of the season..we weren’t hitting all that bad and the pitching still was a problem.Another thing you mentioned earlier..about not winning on the road…they better learn to quick Cuz in a 19 day span from Aug.10 thru Aug. 28 we play 18 games with only a 3 game homestand in the middle.
I’d love to see Hileman and Gonzalez picked up. They’ve both improved tremendously this year. They’re good and they’re consistently good. And if it’s going to happen for either, this would be a good year to do it.
the other 15 games are on the road.
Go Stormers.
Jason.. You say that the Barnstormers know they are lacking in pitching and that they are working on it. Well, they better hurry because they are about out of time for this season.
Good Luck Stormers!!!!!!!!!!! Go James!!!!!!!!!!! I have all the luck on you guys
Looks like the rain is going to pass through. Go Stormers, Beat York.
James,
I don’t think anyone imagined a scenario in which the Barnstormers would be 8 games out 14 games into the second half. It probably is too late to lift this team into contention. Right now the goal is respectability. If they catch fire and make this race interesting, that’s a bonus.
It’s doable. The key phrase is “CATCH FIRE”. It starts tonight. Hopefully tonight Murray won’t send Todd when he is a sitting duck.
And here we are speaking of Jutt and he hits a homerun!
What the heck happened …I cant figure out what this guy is talking about….what did Jutt do and what did Dom do…the radio kinda went snafu…I thought it was a Jutt hr….duh?
Hey Stormin…I assume you are at the game? Have you seen Rad and/or Diamondback Lady?
So how we lookin next year??
Mr. B lives. I was worried Bob the Alcoholic killed you in a fit of rage.
The Barnstormers lost a run in the first inning when Ambrosini missed first base on an apparent double. My goodness. Where does it end?
HAHAHA It’s great to see a little of Jasons sick side slip out every once and a while.
My family and I went on an “Old Amusement Part Tour” all around PA. It was research for an art show I have coming up.
Hey look, they subtracted a run from the Stormers LOL!!
There ya go LIRA!!
OK this is where the season turns around!!
is Max Headroom doing the radio announcing tonight?
This radio guy drives me nuts….his voice is so intoxicating! Talking in a monotone will surely put us all to sleep!
The Bad News Bears even turned it around to eventually become winners!
Missed first base. Ugggghhhhh!
Go ‘Stormers
dad
Sooooo Ah Barnsterers eh…. more like SmellStormers yuck yuck yuck!
Maybe Lancaster can sign Tanner. He’s probably available.
Soooooo Ah I run into this broad the oda day and shes says “eh Jimmy… why you smell like poop?” and I say “EH!… gimmi a break!”
Yuck Yuck Yuck!
We keep playing like this we’re going all the way baby!!!! WHOOOOO
Im depressed
Hey Sneakers, your jokes are about as bad as Murrys habits!
i saw rad. good pitching from james. i love tanner. his attitude and mouth would take over where frank left off. i don’t think dom missed first but with these umps, who knows. last night the called a rev out at the plate when he was really out and then a few innings later called a guy safe at the plate when he was clearly out. with these umps you get a 50/50. lance is the beadstick man and knocked a homer. it’s good to be a stormer fan.
base hit, base hit, base hit.
yes a walk.
Hey Stormin…its about time you checked in…I guess Rad told you I was ailing and couldnt make it with her tonight. bummer…I guess I need to stay home as we are winning tonight. Geez. Yeah it sounded like James did well….let’s just hope the bullpen can hold on to this. Didnt you say that you were going to Newark? You lucky bum!
LET”S GO DERRICK!
Hey Stormin….I CANT HEEEEEEEAAAAARRRR YOU!
Jesus H Tap-Dancing Christ….get it together!!!
Holy crap.
Remember when WE could do this?
I wonder if there are any umps with a gambling problem in this league?
An E for Danny G! That’s unheard of!!
Wasnt there a 12-3 lead in the top of the ninth that we lost last year…only to win the game on a Todd Hr in the bottom of the ninth???
York still doesn’t have a hit in this inning.
Fire Woods right now. Don’t even wait until the game is over.
Where is Lance Odom when you need him????
4 walks this inning and 2 errors??????
Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Bob I’m coming to join you
Foul ball—there goes your gambling problem theory, PTW!!!
Woods saves his job.
Only kidding, who was worried!
Boy, Dave Slade had a rough night. I couldn’t tell what was happening half the time.
A win is a win is a win!
I was in the middle of typing …all we need is a double play..when Woods made that play…..Stormin’s optimism does help.
I thought Bob was announcing tonight
We had them all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Bob Prince of the Pirates said that after ever win.) I only say that when we didnt — have them all the way!!!!!
Mr. B – what parks did you go to?
I’m somewhat of an expert on amusement parks and rides, if i do say so myself.
*pat on the back*
Now wasnt that much more exciting than winning 6-1?????
My favorite small amusement park——Knoebel’s
My favorite park nearest to where I grew up—–the great Kennywood park
What went right—–we kicked their butts.
Now I can’t wait for the Phils to start back up and see what happens to their 8-1 lead. After what I just listened to I think I will pass.
I am glad that won in regulation. James deserved to win that one. Great job tonight, James. We needed that pitching effort.
correction..i am glad THEY won in regulation. sorry
the umpiring sucked. everybody in the dugout was at the umps. felix was all over him. after the game the entire team went after him to tell him what they thought. it was the worst calls ever. the plate got real tight.
That was lightning fast recap tonight, Jason. I guess you didnt get a chance to interview the Barnstormers since they were all jawing with the umpires as they left the game. Now that would be worth price of admission to watch. The umpires trying to leave and the Barnstormers telling them what they thought of their job tonight.
Actually, I’m not in York tonight. Couldn’t cover the game because I have a 6 am desk shift Saturday.
Knoebels can’t be considered small anymore.
they draw 1.5m a year and everyone knows of them.
In PA, small is DelGrosso’s, Lakemont, Conneaut Lake, Bushkill, Waldameer and Williams Grove before they shut down 2 summers ago.
PA has (argueably) the best collection of parks in the country. Always has. There’s no mega- Six Flags parks, but we have those kinds of rides at our two biggest (Hershey and Kennywood). And the small parks are almost exactly what amusement parks were like a century ago. No other state can lay claim to such a wide collection (though NY and Ohio come close).
Listen to the game on the radio was going great until the wood’s blunder. Holy crap if this is the way the rest of the season is going to go i will need a heart dr. Congrats to MR Wise for his first win as the manager. Also it’s been great not having to listen to Tom Arnold on the radio and all of his blunders. Diamond Back Lady will see you Tuesday night for a beer my treat, Now lets keep this rolling and show we still have heart.
Scottie–when we lived in Danville. We discovered Knoebel’s. It is such a great REASONABLY PRICED park that it is unbelievable. Great setting–in the trees. A good time is had by all.
When we lived in Altoona, we went to Bland Park (I guess that is DelGrosso’s now. (Why would anyone call an amusement park BLAND?? I know the real reason, but that is an oxymoron.)
Kennywood is still my favorite. As a kid, we used to get to go to Story Book Forest and Idlewild too. Great memories.
i was ready to have a heart attack. aftet every walk my heart skipped a beat. for a second i thought they won it but a late foul call gave us a second chance. call the medics. my heart stopped. btw did i say that the umping in that inning sucked.
Last time I was at Lakemont –it was a joke. One ride and two rest rooms. And it was going to be Boyer’s crowning achievement. Well they definitely go the way of Hershey’s.
Stormin–it could have sucked more—the home umpire did call they shot a FOUL ball. But maybe he cant see close but can see far.
I meant..the home umpire did call THAT shot a foul ball. sorry. ninth inning jitters havent calmed down
packmule, it was worth the walk to the stadium. i am sure there will some fines. not sure what woods did that was unsportsmanlike. i was too busy watching the dugout go after the umps.
I am sorry–what did Woods do that was unsportsmanlike?
The final tally in the ninth …
Four walks
Two errors
One hit … an RBI single by Luis Taveras
Four runs
As they said in Planes, Trains and Automobiles … We can laugh about it now.
I just got done reading the “Taylor is coming back” thread. i dont know if everybody thinks he is the missing piece and we will now go undefeated, but he is DEFINITELY some hope. And that is what baseball is about– HOPE –that we can still make it a race. Great start tonight.
ROFL….how appropriate, Jason.
From here it sounded like the same old thing. 6-1 in the 9th with one out and I was just about to post “cautiously optimistic” when Woods blew the play and the house of cards fell apart.
I just re-read Jason’s comment about Bergeron…”doesnt Jutt Hileman make more sense?” I think he knows that York is going to get Hileman instead of Van Rossum. They do need a center fielder now.
Damn…Jason didnt take the bait.
york does not need a center fielder justin singleton will get used to the switch and fit in just fine he is a good young player who has a plenty of potential to get to the majors sometime. What the revs need is another reflief pitcher or starting pitcher if edwards moves to the bullpen which he should b/c he hasnt done well in the start spot.
Maust transation to starting has gone very well and the revs should watch out as the scouts will get ahold of him and he will be out the door like pete.
well it was time for the revs to have an off night can’t get too comfortable.
hopefully they play like they did the first to games against the ducks or 2nd guessing will definitely be on a lot of peoples minds.
I was at the game tonight thought the umps were a little shaky and were doing a lot making up for bad calls.
good game in the end but was very slow at times when it seemed like edwards could not get out of the inning.
welcome to our world
looks like the revs will give it a good run
After talking to some of the players, the problem they are having with the umps this year is inconsistancey. Nothing is called the same inning to inning. The calls that went for strikes in the 1-8 did not in the 9.
Well, off to Newark tomorrow for three games in two days. My wife and I did some baking for the team to give them tomorrow night. After tonight, they need the sugar to settle them down.
AA, tell your hubby Ed has the yard sign that he wanted.
I hope this crew does not go to Newark or it could be a long weekend. AA, who was behind the plate tonight? He is off my Christmas list. He has been replaced with Bob. See everyone Tuesday. Are you ready for a winning streak? I am.
Stormin and Pack – Thanks for breakdown on the umpire situation tonight. Only 7 Back now ….. LETS GO STORMERS!!!!!
Oh yeah Stormin…forgot about it…thanks I will tell hubby!
BTW. Had some peanuts at the game tonight. Guess what Mr B, they are “salted”.
My Amusement Park Report (WARNING: not baseball related and maybe as bad as looking through someone else’s vacation pictures)
Scottie–We rented a Cabin at Jellystone Park Campground in Mill Run Creek PA and went to Idlewild Park for a couple days. Then we went and got a cabin at Knoebels campground for a night and went to its park also. Both parks were great! Knoebels had great food surprisingly for a park and I think the Phoenix might be the best wooden roller coaster I’ve ever been on. The Haunted House was fa nominal!
Idlewild is the second oldest park in PA and also voted the second best Kiddie park in the world by Amusement Park magazine. So my three year old loved it! It was like Dutch Wonderland on steroids and took us two days to see everything. We could of spent a third day just at the Idlewilds large waterpark.
Both places you never had to wait in line more than 2 minutes to get on a ride. I can’t stand places where you wait in line 45 min to go on a 1 min. ride. Kennywood looks cool! Is it worth the trip? Any other great old Amusement parks worth checking out thats not more than 4 hours away? I’m still fairly new to PA.
Stormin–You are right about the peanuts. I swear the first batch I had was unsalted though!!
Stormin–I meant the peanuts at the Clip are salted now too.
Going till Woods ERR?… No!! Going good until the home plate ump decided we were to loose !!! No matter what Derrick threw he called it a BALL. Josh was out there watching everything and was pi$$’d. Nice job on the bench clearing… did anyone actually throw a punch or just some good ol’e sailer talkgoing on out there???
It felt like the winner was set before the game and it was supposed to be Dddoork.
There were a few mistakes on the in fields. but LIRA pitched a GREAT game… Kudos James…. Hileman… What can I say… Fabulous !!!! Extra brownies when you get home boys
Had a great time socializing wtih all the Lancaster Fans in ddddork.
Amy, I hate to say it but, maybe your bad luck…
Hope you feel better
I don’t think any punches were thrown, just a lot of yelling.
Ooops. I am so sorry, the middle reliever did FANTASTIC good job Ryan !!!
We sat in #16 at first … jeeezz, you’d think those people never heard or saw a COW-BELL before… so I introduced them to mine, Ha Ha Ha.
I got some very nasty looks everytime I rang it but, when I moved over the our bull pen… lots of us over there Not one dirty look. Even some of the DDDooork fans over there “enjoyed” it Ha Ha .
Thanks for all the other Lancaster Cow-bellers who show’d up too.
Missed you Jason. I went to the box to visit … No you to be seen
Yeah Stormin, they were discussing the trip today and whose bring what on the bus !!!
hey Rad i will make cookies too for the guys!!!!!! They deserve it. Hope you have a good weekend
york paper this morning quoted burkhart as saying they were balls but he was not giving the borderline pitches and that felix started the whole thing going after the game.
Yeah, something tells me going after the umps may well come back to haunt them. If the umps really did have something against Lancaster, it’s not going to help. And if they didn’t, they might now. And has yelling at the ump made any difference whatsoever for anyone this entire year? Not that I’ve seen. It wasn’t a smart move.
What are the umpires going to do???? Fix us by calling a bad game. Been there, they have done that.