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Comeback bid falls short
Blue Crabs lose to Newark, face Long Island in playoffs
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by EMILY BARNES
Blue Crabs starting pitcher Joe Gannon surrendered 10 earned runs, 13 hits and five walks in just four innings.
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Wednesday's regular season finale at Waldorf's Regency Furniture Stadium was Fan Appreciation Night.
And the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs responded by providing the nearly 3,600 fans in attendance with plenty of drama and excitement.
But the performance fell shy of being memorable as the Blue Crabs were unable to completely erase an eight-run deficit in an 11-9 shortcoming to the visiting Newark Bears, resulting in a four-game split between both playoff-bound teams in Southern Maryland's final home series of the regular season.
The loss took some of the luster off the Blue Crabs' doubleheader sweep Tuesday, getting stellar starting mound efforts from Matt Righter and Mike James in 3-2 and 2-0 victories, respectively.
The Liberty Division-leading Blue Crabs (35-30) were hopeful of taking their first series since late August, having now gone six straight without winning.
Falling behind Wednesday in major holes of 10-2 through 3 1/2 innings and 11-3 midway through the sixth were too imposing for the Blue Crabs, which are slowly shaking off their reeling ways that saw them lose 11 of 13 games entering their final homestand that finished 4-4 against Newark (37-29) and Atlantic League top overall outfit Somerset (41-25), the Freedom Division winner again during the second half.
"This is definitely not what we expected on our Fan Appreciation Night. We definitely wanted to win the game," Blue Crabs captain Jeremy Owens said. "But we don't give up. Those losses Monday and Wednesday [to Newark] were better than wins because of the way we fought and clawed back. Anytime you make a run on somebody, you really think you're going to get them. Granted, they were tough losses, but we can learn from them."
In Monday's affair, the Blue Crabs were down 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning before hitting a franchise-first three straight homers to take a 6-5 lead. Newark then showed some resiliency by tying the game in the ninth and winning it in the 10th, 7-6.
Down 11-3 Wednesday, the Blue Crabs refused to wilt easily thanks to a three-run homer from recently reacquired shortstop Travis Garcia –– who hit his third long ball in eight games since returning and went deep for the second straight day –– to highlight a five-run sixth. The Blue Crabs added another run in the seventh, but it was not quite enough to climb out of the huge hole.
"Every pitch he swings it looks like he's right on it," Owens said about Garcia, who went 3 for 5 Wednesday with four RBIs and a run scored. "He's seeing the ball real good and putting some good swings on it."
Still, even with Wednesday's shortcoming coupled with a victory by second-place Long Island, the Blue Crabs held a 1 1/2-game lead in the division with five to play entering Thursday's action, which finished too late for inclusion into this edition. They were two up in the loss column over Long Island.
Long Island (34-32) has clinched the fourth and final playoff spot in the league either as a wild card or a division winner –– should it catch the Blue Crabs by the end of this weekend.
The Blue Crabs will host Long Island on Sept. 24 and 25 in Games 1 and 2 of the divisional series, a best-of-five format, at 7:05 p.m. each night to begin the postseason. The Blue Crabs hold a significant 13-7 edge over Long Island this season.
The Blue Crabs end the regular season with a five-game series at Lancaster.
Though their playoff status is not impacted by how the second half of the season concludes, the Blue Crabs' magic number was at three to clinch the division entering Thursday.
Despite losing 15 of their last 21 games through Wednesday, the Blue Crabs have never relinquished first place in the division during the frustrating stretch, their lead getting no lower than a game.
"It just tells you what kind of roll we were on," Owens said about how well things were going for the Blue Crabs –– winning 13 of 15 games –– right before hitting their long funk. "I do think we really weathered that storm and we're ready to get on a roll."
Former Blue Crabs bench coach and current York skipper Andy Etchebarren helped out his former club Tuesday. York downed Long Island on Tuesday as the Blue Crabs won their doubleheader to push their one-game lead to 2 1/2 entering Wednesday.
"Righter and James hammered the [strike] zone to give us an opportunity," Owens said of the Blue Crabs starters Tuesday, each going five of the seven-inning twin-bill contests in their scratch starts. Righter allowed one earned run on two hits with a strikeout and two walks in Game 1, while James yielded three hits during his shutout pitching with two strikeouts and a walk.
Owens added about Tuesday, "It was a playoff atmosphere in a way."
Blue Crabs starting pitcher Joe Gannon did not fare so well Wednesday, surrendering 10 earned runs, 13 hits and five walks in just four innings.
Newark, boasting the league's best offense with an impressive .298 average through Wednesday, managed a whopping 18 hits off Blue Crabs pitching in the series finale. That matched a season worst for the Blue Crabs.
Gannon, the league's reigning pitcher of the year, dropped to 9-16 this season with his earned run average rising to 5.93. The knuckleballer has been unable to relive the magic that characterized him last year when he was consistently effective en route to a 12-6 record and a league-best 3.17 ERA.
But Gannon's impact on the team this year has gone beyond his struggling numbers. His tireless arm has spared the pitching staff, evidenced just by his appearance Wednesday.
Gannon had just started 48 hours earlier in Monday's extra-inning loss, going seven innings with five runs allowed on seven hits, for his second start in three nights for a rarely accomplished feat.
"I do think he'll pick it up [going into the playoffs]," Owens said of Gannon. "He's been picking it up. He's not having the year he wants, but the way he goes out there, he usually doesn't come out until the seventh inning. He's one of those on-the-field leaders every night, and he saves our bullpen.
"In my opinion, he's like another captain on the team. I'm always consulting him for stuff."
Results
Wednesday
Newark 11, Blue Crabs 9
Newark 501 401 000 – 11 18 4
Blue Crabs 020 015 100 – 9 12 0
WP Demko (2-0), LP Gannon (9-16), Save Thorpe (13)
Extra-base hits: 2B – Jones (N), Dellaero (N) 2, Tucker (BC),
Giannotti (BC); 3B – Mercedes (N); HR – Garcia (BC, 15)
Atlantic League standings
(Standings as of Wednesday)
Liberty Division W L Pct. GB Streak Last 10
*Southern Maryland 35 30 .538 ----- L-1 4-6
Long Island 34 32 .515 1.5 W-1 6-4
Bridgeport 30 36 .455 5.5 L-1 3-7
Camden 28 38 .424 7.5 W-1 4-6
Freedom Division W L Pct. GB Streak Last 10
*Somerset 41 25 .621 ----- L-1 6-4
Newark 37 29 .561 4.0 W-1 6-4
Lancaster 31 34 .477 9.5 W-1 6-4
York 27 39 .409 14.0 L-1 5-5
*First-half champion
