In a tight and hard fought game where pitching and defense were the key ingredients to a 4-3 victory over the Blue Thunder. Dave Forman pitched a solid game for4-2/3 innings and John Weber came in with the bases loaded and got the last out in the 5th inning and shut down the Thunder the rest of the way. There were some really outstanding plays made by Bob Yakatan who made several catches and throws which either held runners from scoring or started a great relay to get a runner at home. Elgin Henderson led the Bluejays with 2 hits and and an rbi and along with some Thunder miscues which also helped the BlueJays cause. The BlueJays record now stands at 8-6. As has been the case all season this was a team effort.
Disregard my previous post, predicting the Thunder had their grasp on the #2 seed. Another reminder of why I quit betting! Good job Artie, I could tell in the game we played you that you guys were much better than your record at the time.
Hats off to Artie G and the Blue Jays. They played the better all-around game and deserved the win. But it sure was a weird one. The Thunder put 17 runners on the bases with eight hits, seven walks and two hit batters, but the Jays defense held strong. And kudos to Artie, who drew a bases loaded walk with two outs in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie and push across the winning run. He also made a managerial move that turned the game around. With a runner on third and one out in the fifth, the infield moved in, poised to hold the runner at third on a ground out. But Artie, with scorebook in hand, hollered from the bench for the infield to move back, since it was only the tying run at third. Jon Martin followed with a soft liner that would have surely landed in centerfield for an RBI single with the infield in, but the shortstop made a nice running catch up the middle for the out to hold the runner at third. The next batter popped out to short to end it, and the Jays had riggled out of another mess. The gamble by Artie the Greek came up aces. Lost in the defeat was a near-perfect three innings on the mound by Thunder starter Jim Ansel, who allowed no runs and struck out four. Pete Geanellis, who had two more hits for the Thunder, deserved a better fate in relief as all four runs he gave up were unearned. It should be an exciting rematch if these two teams meet again in the playoffs.
