51s offense struggles again in loss at El Paso
El Paso left fielder Franchy Cordero jump started the Chihuahuas’ offense immediately Saturday, tripling to begin the bottom of the first.
One batter later, the Chihuahuas already had a lead.
It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as they beat the 51s for the second time in three days.
Las Vegas fell 7-0 at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, with starter Donovan Hand giving up six runs and the 51s offense not producing with runners in scoring position.
Shortly after Cordero scored, Hand surrendered a home run to El Paso first baseman Jamie Romak, his first of two in the game.
“The way the game got going, Hand made two mistakes up in the zone, and that hurt, but then after that, I thought he made a really good adjustment to keep us in the ballgame, made quality pitches, and just unfortunately in the sixth inning, he probably got tired and walked two batters,” Las Vegas manager Pedro Lopez said.
The score was 4-0 when Hand left the game, but both inherited runners scored when Beck Wheeler came on in relief.
An inning later, Cordero hit a solo home run off Ben Rowen to give the Chihuahuas (2-1) a 7-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the 51s bats were silenced by Chihuahuas starter Tyrell Jenkins, who gave up four hits in six innings.
“He located his pitches well and just kept us off balance. We hit some balls hard, but unfortunately tonight we were outplayed,” Lopez said. “We made some soft contact at times. There were times that we hit the ball hard but right at people, but he did his job. He located his pitches well and didn’t allow us to get a big inning going.”
One of their best chances came in the seventh, after Jenkins had departed, when Josh Rodriguez walked and Desmond Jennings singled with two outs.
But Jayce Boyd struck out looking to end the inning, leaving both men on.
The 51s (1-2) left eight runners on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve just got to focus on having quality at-bats with men in scoring position, keep pushing out there, keep talking to the guys to zone in on the pitches they can hit,” Lopez said. “We’re not playing A ball. We’re playing against good pitchers, guys that might not have the big time velocity, but there’s a reason why they’re here. They spot their pitches well, and we just got to make sure that we stick with our game plan.”
In the first three games, the 51s are 1-for-25 with runners in scoring position. It’s a troubling trend, but one that would be nearly impossible to continue. The offense is one of the team’s strengths, but the 51s have scored just five runs.
“There’s no reason to panic,” Lopez said. “I think with our lineup, we’re going to be OK. No — I don’t think — I know we’re going to be OK, and it’s just a matter of time for these guys to break out and start hitting the ball all over the field.”
Up next
Who: 51s at El Paso Chihuahuas
When: 12:05 p.m. today
Where: Southwest University Park
Starters: Sean Gilmartin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Dinelson Lamet (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Next five
Monday: Las Vegas at El Paso, 10:05 a.m.
Tuesday: Fresno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Fresno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday: Fresno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Friday: Fresno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Update
Sean Gilmartin will make his season debut Sunday. Pitching coach Frank Viola said before the season that Gilmartin would be on a pitch limit in his first game after he missed time during spring training with a shoulder issue.
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
