Upshaw Still Looking For First Win

By Justin Felisko on July 13, 2009

Bridgeport, CT-The second edition of the Willie Upshaw era as manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish was off to a slow start weekend as Bridgeport dropped three straight one-run games to the York Revolution.  Yesterday, Bob Zimmermann was able to halt a ninth inning Bridgeport rally to earn his sixth save of the year, and the Revolution (3-0) defeated the Bluefish (0-3) 3-2 at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Jesse Hoorelbeke hit a two-out double off the right field wall against Zimmermann to score Tyrone Pendergrass.  The closer then got Luis Rodriguez to foul out to right field to end the game.

The Revolution jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Matt Rogelstad led off the frame with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Goleski.  Rogelstad finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Ryner Bautista responded in the third with a solo home run off starter Dave Gassner (4-7).  It was the only run charged against Gassner, who went six and one-third innings for the win.  He struck out three, walked one and gave up four hits.

Bautista went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI for the ‘Fish.

York answered in the bottom of the frame when P.J. Rose hit his second extra-base hit in two nights with an RBI double.

Esteban Yan (6-3) suffered the tough loss after going the distance, striking out six and giving up three runs on eight hits in eight innings of work.

Rose was the fisherman on Saturday, hooking the ‘Fish with their second loss of the second half when he blasted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning off Bluefish closer Andy Cavazos.

It was the first run and hit surrendered by Cavazos in eight innings.  The righty walked the first three Revs before Rose’s heroics.

Jesse Hoorelbeke paved the way at the plate by going 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI.  The first baseman’s three run double in the third inning was the turning point against Revs starter Dan Foli. The righthander exited at the end of the frame, finishing with four runs on six hits and three walks.

Daryl Harang did damage control for the Revs, tossing four innings of scoreless ball.

Gary Knotts did his part for Bridgeport on the mound, striking out seven in seven innings and allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks.

Relief pitcher Patrick Ryan made his Bluefish debut with a scoreless eighth.

Adam Greenberg had a nice night at the dish as he tied a season-high with three hits while stealing two bases.

Zimmermann earned his first save of the series Friday night in York’s 2-1 victory.  Bridgeport could not capitalize in the eighth and ninth innings with runners on base and dropped the first game of the Atlantic League second half.

The Bluefish struggled against starter Tim Harrikala (5-1) in Willie Upshaw’s 2009 managerial debut.  Harrikala pitched five scoreless innings to open the game, giving him 13 straight against the ‘Fish, before Enohel Polanco scored on a wild pitch.  The righthander earned the win by striking out four and giving up a run on four hits.

Josh Johnson’s two-run homer was all the Revs needed to provide Harrikala with his fourth straight victory.

Starter Corey Lee left after one pitch for the ‘Fish with an apparent right side injury.  Matt Pike replaced Lee and pitched a solid five innings. Pike suffered the loss despite allowing just two unearned runs on four hits and two walks.

Tommy John walked off the field at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard for the last time with a victory on July 8.  The Bluefish responded to the sudden news of John’s resignation with a 12 hit performance to defeat the Somerset Patriots 6-4 in the final game of the Atlantic League first half.

Luis Lopez’s two-run homer to left field proved to be the difference maker, as the Bluefish used a three-run fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie.  Adam Greenberg scored on Lopez’s blast off Brian Adams after dropping down a leadoff bunt and stealing second and third base.

Adams (8-5) suffered the loss after striking out three in five innings while giving up six runs on 10 hits and three walks.

Andy Cavazos pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season for the ‘Fish.

Atlantic League strikeout leader Dan Reichert (9-6) earned his league-leading ninth victory of the season by lasting eight innings and striking out five while being tagged for four runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks.

The Bluefish finished the first half with a record of 33-37.

The Patriots jumped out to an early 5-0 lead against starter Kyle Jackson on June 7 as the Pats went on to defeat the ‘Fish 6-4.  Jackson recovered to hold Somerset hitless over his final six innings pitched, but suffered the loss by giving up  six runs on six hits and four walks.

Brandon Sing highlighted Bridgeport’s eight-hit performance by going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Sing led the Bluefish to a 4-1 victory on June 6 by smashing two solo home runs in Esteban Yan’s complete game three-hitter.  Yan made quick work of Somerset, breezing through the game on 100 pitches.  At one point, Yan retired 13 straight Somerset batters.

Bridgeport finished the week 2-4 and will look to earn their first victory of the second half tonight in the final game of a four game series against the York Revolution at 7:00 p.m.

Tonight’s Matchup

Kyle Jackson (14 GS; 5-6, 5.11 ERA) vs. Shane Youman (5 G, 4 GS; 0-2, 2.26 ERA)

The Week Ahead

June 14-16 at Camden Riversharks

Player to Watch: Starting pitcher Tom Davey is 8-2 with a league-leading 2.31 ERA and his 66 strikeouts are tied for second in the league.  Davey is 2-0 against the ‘Fish with 10 strikeouts and Bridgeport has only scored one run off him in two games.

June 17-19 vs. Newark Bears

Player to Watch: Catcher Salomon Manriquez is the league-leader in batting average (.367) and his .444 on-base percentage is ranked second.  Manriquez is batting .276 against Bridgeport in six games with five walks and three runs.

‘Fish Facts

Who’s Hot: Outfielder Brandon Sing and first baseman Jesse Hoorelbeke have made themselves a threatening presence in the middle of the Bridgeport lineup.  Sing is 17-for-37 (.459) with 10 runs, nine RBI and two home runs in the last ten games.  Hoorelbeke has a team-high 14 RBI in the last ten games by going 13-for-32 (.406) with eight runs and three home runs.

Who’s Not:  Outfielder Tyrone Pendergrass is 3-for-18 (.167) with three runs and one RBI over the last five games…Enohel Polanco struggled in his first week back from a hamstring injury, going 3-for-14 (.214) with two runs and two RBI.

Scoreless Debut: Relief pitcher Patrick Ryan made his Bluefish debut on Saturday by pitching a scoreless eighth inning.  The 26-year-old joins Bridgeport after appearing in 16 games (eight starts) with West Tenn (AA, Mariners) of the Southern League earlier this year.  Ryan was 2-5 with a 6.62 ERA in 50 innings pitched.

On and off the Disabled List: The Bluefish placed Todd Davison on the disabled list with a knee injury and infielder Wilson Batista was reinstated to the active list yesterday.  Batista had three hits in six games for the ‘Fish earlier this year.

Streak Snapped:  Brandon Sing’s 10-game hitting streak was snapped on Friday against the York Revolution.  The outfielder’s streak is tied for the team-high with ex-Bluefish Henry Mateo.

Upshaw takes over John: With the sudden news of Tommy John’s resignation as manager of the Bluefish, Willie Upshaw will take over for his second stint as manager of the team.  Upshaw managed the team from 1998-2000, winning the 1999 Atlantic League Championship.  The 1998 Manager of the Year left the team in 2000 to coach in the affiliated ranks of the Cleveland Indians and then the San Francisco Giants.

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