Reddish, smoky skies, the scorching temperature at start time and a pitchers' duel - especially by rookie league standards - treated a sparse weekday crowd to an atypical evening at the diamond.
Led by southpaw starter Taylor Sinclair, the Missoula Osprey trimmed Orem 3-0 in a Pioneer League game Monday before 1,749 fans at Ogren-Allegiance Park.
The win, which gave Missoula 14 for the whole season, was impressive enough, but the way the Osprey made it happen was quality, too.
The Birds used just two pitchers to hike their record to 5-15 in the second half, 14-45 overall. The Owlz (16-5, 41-18) also used just two hurlers the whole night.
“That team won what, 14, 15 games in a row,” said Sinclair, who's been pretty much money since he arrived in late July. “So that's pretty special to come out here and have two pitchers go after them like that.”
Sinclair allowed just two hits through six innings before being lifted for Pedro Rodriguez, who worked the final three frames. Sinclair (3-1) struck out five and walked two, but made it look easy on his way to becoming the team leader in wins.
“That's Taylor, that's just his normal self,” said O's outfielder Bobby Stone. “He got ahead of batters, got outs, then the bullpen came in did the rest.”
“I had a couple rough starts on the road,” said Sinclair, who lost to Orem last week. “I just wanted to come back here and get back to work. Obviously I pitch well in this park, so I just got back to work, pumped the zone, pitched to a lead and hey, it all worked out.”
Rodriguez didn't allow a hit in recording his first save of the season. He struck out three, including the final two batters, to give Missoula its first win over Orem this summer. The O's went 1-3 against Ogden in the series before Orem got to town. Missoula is now 2-10 against teams from Utah.
The Owlz and Osprey meet twice more on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
Orem starter Baron Short was equally stingy, allowing just two runs on three hits through five innings. Short was lifted before the next inning, when Missoula tallied a run on Stone's RBI double to take a 3-0 lead.
Stone went 2-for-4 with two doubles to lead the O's, who've been outscored 94-62 by the two Utah teams.
“It's usually the other way around,” said Stone of the offense falling behind and forcing the pitchers to scramble, “but they pitched their butts off. They did outstanding. We just had a few key hits when we needed 'em.”
Missoula made it 2-0 in the fifth when the Owlz booted a double play attempt - one of their four errors - which allowed Alberto Diaz to score. Isasias Ascencio drove in Jacob Elmore with the O's first run in the first. A heads-up head-first slide didn't beat left fielder Marcel Champagnie's throw home, but Elmore's hand squeezed in before catcher Beau Brooks' tag.
Reynaldo Navarro started an inning-ending double play in the third, one batter after his error put a runner on third, to help keep Sinclair's gem intact. Navarro made another error in the fourth to run his season total to 30.
Missoula catcher Rossmel Perez picked off a runner at first base and threw out two runners at first on excuse-me ground balls.
Notes: The temperature was 98 degrees in the first inning. ŠO's DH Victor Estevez went 0-for-4 to end his eight-game hitting streak. Š Missoula's only other shutout this season was the 1-0 win over Helena when three Osprey pitchers combined on a no-hitter on June 30. Š The 14-game win streak for Orem was a franchise record, well off the PBL record of 29 set by Salt Lake City in 1987Š. After Navarro, the next highest Osprey error total is eight by 3B Nelson Gomez.
OREM MISSOULA
ab r h bi ab r h bi
D.Perez ss 3 0 1 0 Diaz cf 3 1 1 0
Contreras 2b 4 0 0 0 Elmore 2b 3 1 1 0
Lopez 1b 3 0 0 0 White 1b 4 0 0 1
Jimenez dh 4 0 1 0 Gomez 3b 3 0 0 0
Castillo rf 4 0 0 0 Asencio rf 4 1 1 1
Auer cf 3 0 0 0 Stone lf 4 0 2 1
Champagnie lf 2 0 0 0 Estevez dh 4 0 0 0
Bailey 3b 2 0 0 0 R.Perez c 3 0 0 0
Kiniry ph 1 0 0 0 Navarro ss 3 0 0 0
Townsend 3b 0 0 0 0
Brooks c 3 0 0 0
Totals 29 0 2 0 Totals 31 3 5 3
Orem 000 000 000 - 0
Missoula 100 011 00x - 3
E - D. Perez 3, Townsend, Navarro 2. DP - Missoula 1. LOB - Orem 6, Missoula 8. 2B - Stone. SB - Diaz (6).
Orem
IP H R ER BB SO
Short L, 3-3 5.0 3 2 2 4 3
Scholl 3.0 2 1 0 0 3
Missoula
Sinclair W, 3-1 6.0 2 0 0 2 5
Rodriguez S, 1 3.0 0 0 0 1 3
HBP - Lopez (by Sinclair).
Umpires - Blake Davis, Brett Houseman.
T - 2:17.
A - 1,749.
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