Game 14: Stormers 7-2

	Zack Parker 1-0, 0.86 ERA		Mike Bumstead 1-2, 6.00 ERA

Friday night’s rainout came at an opportune time for the Barnstormers. It gave them a day to rest their overworked bullpen and it shortened the final two games of this series to seven innings — which is helpful for a team that is struggling to close out wins. Lancaster and Newark will play a doubleheader on Sunday followed by an off day Monday.

The relief corps should be in good shape tonight. According to head of baseball operations Keith Lupton, pitchers Jeff Muessig and Yamel Guevara have been cleared to play, so the Barnstormers have two more right-handed options. They’ll need them since Ricardo Gomez is not available after starting Thursday night.

As for the visa waiting game, P Sendy Rleal is expected to pick up his visa Monday and is scheduled to leave the Dominican Tuesday. The former big leaguer has been playing in his home country and the Barnstormers hope he can contribute immediately. P Jose Cabrera’s meeting with the consulate was pushed back to Tuesday. If he’s approved as expected, he’ll travel here Wednesday. The bullpen should have a much different look next week.

Zack Parker will stay on schedule and start today. Mike Nannini, who was going to start Friday night’s game, was pushed back to Sunday. He and Tim McClaskey will work the doubleheader. Parker is coming off a two-hit shutout against Camden Monday.

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OPS watch (back by not-so-popular demand):

Brian Stavisky	1.002
Mike Woods	.923
Lance Burkhart	.921
Vasili Spanos	.913
Ian Bladergroen	.864
Lloyd Turner	.673
Danny Gonzalez	.656
Jutt Hileman	.655
Jarred Ball	.577

It’s the Stavo show. The Barnstormers have a sharp divide here. Five guys performing above average and four guys performing below. This is a small sample size and it means nothing other than to show how players have fared through 13 games.

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Lineups …

(4-9)	(6-7)
Mike Woods, RF	Bobby Hill, SS
Juan Francia, 2B	Brian Burgamy, 2B
Brian Stavisky, LF	Cory Aldridge, LF
Vasili Spanos, 3B	Randall Simon, 1B
Ian Bladergroen, 1B	Jose Herrera, RF
Danny Gonzalez, SS	Keith Reed, CF
Lance Burkhart, C	Ramon Castro, DH
Manny Mejia, DH	John Pachot, C
Jutt Hileman, CF	Mike Just, 3B

Scoring summary …

Barnstormers	002	041	000	7	11	0
Bears	000	000	200	2	8	1

FINAL: Barnstormers 7, Bears 2

Stormers 3rd: Woods’ double scores Hileman. Stavisky’s sacrifice fly scores Woods. Lancaster leads 2-0.

Stormers 5th: Gonzalez’s fielder’s choice scores Stavisky. Burkhart’s double scores Bladergroen and Gonzalez. Mejia’s double scores Burkhart.
Lancaster leads 6-0.

Stormers 6th: Gonzalez’s fielder’s choice scores Stavisky.
Lancaster leads 7-0.

Bears 7th: Pachot’s home run scores Castro.
Lancaster leads 7-2

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RECORD: 5-9

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Zack Parker. The Barnstormers made a wise decision to keep Parker on schedule and make this start. He’s a safe bet to pitch deep into the game and save the bullpen for Sunday’s doubleheader. The ace responded with a strong outing. Parker’s turn in the rotation is becoming win day for Lancaster.

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The pitchers:

*Parker’s line …

6.1 IP

7 H

2 R

2 ER

0 BB

3 K

The lefthander extended his remarkable scoreless innings streak to 25 2/3 innings before allowing John Pachot’s two-run homer in the seventh. That was the final batter Parker faced. For the season, he is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in four starts. Does anyone deserve to be picked up more than this guy?

*Jeff Muessig made his debut …

2.2 IP

1 H

0 R

0 ER

2 BB

0 K

*The Barnstormers hope adding Muessig is the first of several steps toward shoring up the bullpen. He retired 8 of the 12 batters he faced. Two reached on walks and one reached on a hit batter. Overall, it was a good first impression.

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The hitters:

*Brian Stavisky went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. He does something almost every game to help the offense. The OPS champ is the best hitter on this team and has to rank among the best in the league.

*Mike Woods extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double in the third. That gave the Barnstormers their first lead.

*Manny Mejia went 2-for-5 with an RBI double as a DH. During the offseason, we talked about why Mejia’s addition would improve the Barnstormers. He’s not Johnny Bench behind the plate, but he’s solid and a good backup catcher overall. He’s a good fit for this club.

*Juan Francia moved up to No. 2 in the lineup as Lloyd Turner got a day off. Those two are going to split time at second base. They complement each other well. Both have speed and both can hit either second or ninth in the order. Neither is really an everyday guy.

*Lance Burkhart’s RBI double in the sixth gave him a team-best nine extra-base hits.

*No homers, five doubles in this offensive outburst.

*Newark has built an odd team considering it plays half its games in a ballpark that favors right-handed batters. The Bears’ 3-5 slots are occupied by Cory Aldridge, Randall Simon and Jose Herrera, all lefty batters. As constructed, this team is vulnerable to pitchers like Parker and won’t score runs like the 2007 version.

*The Barnstormers are 3-1 when Parker starts. They’re 2-8 when it’s someone else.