REVS WIN WILD ONE AT BRIDGEPORT
Monday, June 25, 2007
By: Darrell Henry
Dave Gil Highlights 9-7 Win With First 9-inning Complete Game In Revolution History
The York Revolution won for the fourth time in six games, in a wild, 9-7 game at Bridgeport’s The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. Dave Gil fired the first 9-inning complete game in Revolution history, despite allowing four homeruns. The win is the first against the Bluefish in five tries this season, as the Revolution has now beaten every team in the league at least once.
Bridgeport took an early 2-0 lead in the second on solo homers to left field by Jesse Hoorelbeke and Jay Caligiuri.
York responded with a six-run fourth, sending twelve batters to the plate. Nate Espy led off the inning with his eighth homer on a towering drive that just cleared the wall in dead center. Matt Dryer then drew a walk, and Justin Singleton pounded his first homer in a Revolution uniform and fifth this season on a drive over the wall in right, making it 3-2 York. The Revs entered the game 0-4 against Bridgeport, having surrendered leads in three of the four losses, but the 3-2 lead was one that York would not surrender.
The Revolution added to the advantage on a two-run, two-out single to left by Ramon Nivar. After a stolen base by Nivar, and a walk to Peter Bergeron, Espy became the first Revs player to record two hits in an inning, as he lifted a towering fly to deep left center that bounced on the warning track, over the fence for an RBI ground rule double, capping the scoring.
York made it 7-2 in the fifth. Keoni De Renne led off with a single to left. Nivar then doubled to left-center. De Renne was thrown out at the plate on the play. Nivar took third on the throw and scored before another pitch was thrown on an error by Bridgeport reliever Steven Kent. The miscue occurred when Kent asked for a new ball, and threw the game ball into the dugout without asking for time to be called.
Bridgeport cut into the lead with an unearned run in the sixth on a two-out, RBI single to center by Nick Ortiz. The inning was kept alive when Gil committed a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Bobby Malek that would have been the second out.
The Revolution answered in the seventh on an RBI double to right by Luis Cotto, driving home Singleton who led off with a base-hit to center.
York added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single to left-center by Nivar, who fought through pain after getting hit on his left hand on a ball called foul earlier in the at-bat. Tanaka scored from first on the play, after running on the full count, two-out pitch. He hesitated at third, catching the Bluefish defense off guard, and then sped for home, sliding straight into catcher John Nathans’ block of the plate. Tanaka was shaken up, but remained in the game.
Gil had to fight through some fireworks in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the complete game. Hoorelbeke led off by reaching on a throwing error by Cotto at third. With one out, Caligiuri hit his second homer of the game, and third of the series, to left-center. He had previously won Sunday’s game with a walk-off tater in the eleventh. Gil then walked Tommy Rojas, and with two out, Nathans clubbed a two-run homer to left. Gil recorded the final out, however, as Angel Espada tried to bunt his way on, pushing the ball to Dryer at first, who fielded and dove to tag the base before Espada arrived, ending the game.
Gil’s complete game was his first 9-inning CG since July 21, 2002 at Birmingham while with Double-A Chattanooga in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He allowed only three earned runs on nine hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The four homers against him tied a season-high for most allowed by a Revolution pitcher.
Nivar led York offensively, going 4-for-6 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and two stolen bases. It was his second four-hit game of the season. Espy was 3-for-6 with two RBI. Singleton was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Bergeron was 2-for-3 with his league-leading fourth triple.
The Revolution drew 10 walks from Bridgeport pitchi
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