The Mesa Solar Sox won 8-7 today against Phoenix. Three Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers made appearances tonight. Nathan Baker took over in the sixth inning, coming on with two outs. Baker gave up a double, followed by two singles to tie the game at 2-2. He returned to the mound in the 7th, giving up two walks in the first three batters of the inning. Baker was saved on a play at the plate after giving up a single to the next batter. Right fielder Brandon Short was able to throw Cody Puckett out at the plate, giving Baker his second out. However, Baker walked the next two batters, with the second walk coming with the bases loaded, to bring in a run.
Michael Colla took over for Baker and got a ground out to strand all three runners and end the inning. The final line for Baker was one inning, with three runs on four hits, along with four walks and a strikeout. Colla also ran in to trouble in the eighth inning. After erasing a leadoff walk with a double play, Colla issued another walk, followed by a two run homer. He was able to escape the frame without any other damage, ending up with two runs on one hit and three walks in 1.1 innings.
Thanks to a five run sixth inning, Mesa still held a 7-5 lead heading in to the ninth inning. Jeff Inman came on for the save, and got two quick outs on a ground out and a fly out. He followed that up with a walk and a hit batter, then gave up a double to tie the score at 7-7, blowing the save. Inman finished with the two earned runs on a walk and a hit. He got the win when Mesa won in the bottom of the 9th inning on a Junior Lake double, scoring Brian Dozer from first.
Jarek Cunningham was the only Pirates hitting prospect who played today. He went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Cunningham now has a .243/.300/.457 line in 70 at-bats in the AFL season.
