Long Island Ducks (4-3, 1-2) @ York Revolution (5-3, 2-1)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Sovereign Bank Stadium:  York, PA

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REVS OUTSLUG DUCKS FOR 2-1 SERIES LEAD, STANDING ONE WIN AWAY FROM ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP

After watching a big lead slip away, the York Revolution rebounded to retake control late in the game, and notched a 9-6 victory over the Long Island Ducks in Game 3 of the Atlantic League Championship Series in front of a Revs’ postseason record 4,934 fans at Sovereign Bank Stadium on Friday night.  The Revs now hold a 2-1 series lead, needing just one victory in the next two games to win their second consecutive league championship.  Game 4 is set for Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. in York.

The Revs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first four innings.  Salvador Paniagua smoked a two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the second for the game’s first runs.  It marked the second time in the last two home playoff games that Paniagua drove in multiple runs.

Ramon Castro led off the bottom of the third with a single to left and scored on a triple to right-center by Chris Nowak.  Val Majewski then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, as the lead grew to 4-0.

Bryant Nelson clubbed a line drive homerun off the right field foul pole in the bottom of the fifth, providing York with its fifth run.

Revs starter Jino Gonzalez cruised along early, allowing no runs in the first three innings and carrying a one-hit shutout into the fifth.  But after jumping ahead of Matt Padgett 1-2, Padgett worked the count full and singled up the middle to start the fifth inning.  Matt Esquivel followed with a two-run homer to left on another 3-2 pitch, getting the Ducks on the board.  After a walk and another single, Gonzalez was lifted for reliever Dumas Garcia, who recorded an out on a sacrifice bunt before striking out Ray Navarrete for the second out.  But Javier Colina reached on an infield single along the third base line plating another run to make it 5-3, and John Rodriguez drove a game-tying two-run double into the left field corner tying the score.  The five-run inning snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak for Long Island’s offense, having scored only one run previously in 21 innings in the series.

The Revs regrouped, however, and took charge late in the game.  Jose Herrera led off the home sixth with a single to right field, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Liubiemithz Rodriguez, and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Scott Grimes, giving York the lead for good.

Castro slammed a homerun to left field leading off the bottom of the seventh to add to the lead, and with two outs Vince Harrison doubled to right-center and scored on a single to left by Herrera, his third hit of the night.  Herrera singled in each of his final three at-bats, after beginning the postseason 0-for-18.

Nelson provided one final offensive highlight in the bottom of the eighth with a homerun off the tents in right field, becoming the first batter in Revs history to go deep twice in a playoff game.  Nelson now leads all playoff batters with three round-trippers this postseason.

Matt DeSalvo (1-0) earned the win in relief for the Revs, retiring all nine batters in a perfect three-inning stint that included four strikeouts.

R.J. Rodriguez closed it out in the ninth, allowing only an unearned run before retiring Colina on a groundball fielder’s choice to shortstop with the tying run at the plate.

Reliever Jason Monti (0-1) suffered the loss for Long Island, allowing the sixth inning run on Grimes’ single.

York has now scored nine runs in back-to-back games, totaling 25 hits the last two contests.  They had been held to just seven runs in their previous four games, and 14 runs in their previous six postseason games.

The Revs have also connected on three homeruns in back-to-back games, after managing just three homeruns in their first six playoff games.

Every York starter either scored a run or drove in a run, while eight of the nine starters had hits.

York’s Corey Thurman (0-0, 2.19) will face the Ducks’ Chris McCoy (0-0, 6.75) in Game 4 on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., with the Revs attempting to become just the second team in Atlantic League history to win back-to-back league championships.  Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and tickets are available at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Apple Chevrolet Ticket Office.