Game 21: Stormers 7-3

	Tim McClaskey 1-1, 7.91 ERA		Corey Thurman 0-3, 11.05 ERA

If you look at the standings, they’ll tell you the Barnstormers are tied for the worst record in the league. Does that mean they’re the worst team in the league? Not necessarily. There are other indicators to project a team’s prospects going forward.

The simplest is run differential. It indicates how many runs a team is scoring relative to its opponent. After all, isn’t scoring more than the other guy the core objective of this sport? This stat may surprise you. The Barnstormers have the best run differential in the Freedom Division.

Barnstormers +5
Bears +1
Patriots -2
Revolution -20

The reason the Barnstormers’ run differential doesn’t match their record is their bullpen has blown a ton of close games. If the recent moves to address that problem are successful, this team could take off in a big way. Lancaster is four games behind Somerset, but has performed at roughly the same overall level through 20 games.

If you’re interested, here are the run differentials in the Liberty Division:

Riversharks +30
Blue Crabs +10
Ducks -10
Bluefish -14

Camden is head and shoulders above everyone else, which is an impressive feat considering how many injuries the Riversharks have endured. The expansion Blue Crabs are second. That Butch Hobson fellow knows what he’s doing.

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Pitching matchup: Tim McClaskey was penciled into the No. 2 spot in the rotation and considered the second-best bet for a strong season behind Zack Parker. Why is he struggling? McClaskey has issued eight walks in 19 1/3 innings, an unusually high total for him. Still, his ERA is over-inflated because all six inherited runners he left on base have scored. He hasn’t pitched well, but he hasn’t pitched as badly as the stats indicate.

Corey Thurman is part of York’s big-league rotation, which hasn’t produced big-league results. The rigthhander has yet to pitch more than five innings in a start and has more walks than strikeouts.

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Lineups …

(7-13)	(7-13)
Mike Woods, RF	Keoni De Renne, SS
Danny Gonzalez, SS	Sandy Aracena, C
Brian Stavisky, LF	Matt Dryer, 1B
Manny Mejia, C	Matt Padgett, 3B
Ian Bladergroen, 1B	Tyler Von Schell, DH
Vasili Spanos, 3B	Jason Aspito, LF
Lance Burkhart, DH	Matt Esquivel, RF
Jutt Hileman, CF	Enrique Cruz, 2B
Lloyd Turner, 2B	Travis Ezi, CF

Scoring summary …

Barnstormers	000	205	000	7	11	2
Revolution	001	010	100	3	6	2

WP: Tim McClaskey (2-1)
LP: Corey Thurman (0-4)

FINAL: Barnstormers 7, Revolution 3

Revs 2nd: Aspito’s sacrifice fly scores Padgett.
York leads 1-0.

Stormers 4th: Stavisky’s home run scores Gonzalez.
Lancaster leads 2-1.

Revs 5th: Von Schell hits solo home run.
Game tied at 2.

Stormers 6th: Stavisky’s double scores Gonzalez. Mejia’s double scores Stavisky. Spanos’ single scores Mejia. Burkhart’s home run scores Bladergroen.
Lancaster leads 7-2.

Revs 7th: Aspito hits solo home run.
Lancaster leads 7-3.

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RECORD: 8-13

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brian Stavisky (3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs)

The outfielder smashed a two-run homer in the fourth inning and an RBI double in the sixth to account for Lancaster’s first three runs. Stavisky is so steady. He’s hitting .338 with four homers and 16 RBIs. His on-base hasn’t dipped below .400 all season.

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The pitchers:

Tim McClaskey bounced back as expected …

6 IP

5 H

2 R

1 ER

0 BB

2 K

This is the pitcher the Barnstormers have been expecting. The righthander was economical and didn’t issue any walks as he picked up his second win. This is five consecutive solid outings for the starting rotation. If that continues, the team will continue to climb the standings.

*Yamel Guevara pitched two innings and allowed his first run. His ERA is 1.35 and he’s averaging more than a strikeout per inning.

*Judd Songster pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out.

*The bullpen has pitched five innings and has allowed one run in this series.

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The hitters:

*Lance Burkhart smashed a two-run homer to cap the sixth-inning outburst. He’s now tied for the league lead with five homers and has 11 RBIs.

*Manny Mejia extended his hitting streak to 11 games as he appeared in the cleanup spot again. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI single. The Barnstormers are getting tremendous production from their catchers.

*Danny Gonzalez walked twice and scored twice. Every season it seems the Barnstormers put him somewhere other than the No. 2 slot, even though that’s where he belongs. It’s time to just leave him there.

*Vasili Spanos went 2-for-4 with an RBI. It’s a different lineup when Spanos is playing, as we saw during the two losses to Somerset earlier in the week.

*The Barnstormers are out of last place and boosted their run differential to +9. They have a chance for a three-game sweep at York Sunday. The Revs, with a run differential of -24, are clearly the worst team in the league.