The Peoria Javelinas took on the first place Surprise Saguaros for a second straight night on Tuesday. They went into the game with an 11-9 record, which put them three games out of first place with nine games left. All three Pittsburgh Pirates hitters were in the lineup and Nick Mears came out of the bullpen, as the Javelinas lost 3-0 and collected just two hits.
Jared Oliva batted third and played right field. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He’s still batting .349/.453/.556 through 18 games.
Oneil Cruz was at shortstop and hitting sixth. He picked up one of the two hits (both singles), going 1-for-3 with a strikeout. He’s hitting .205 in 13 games, with one double and six walks.
Jason Delay (pictured above) was behind the plate and batting ninth. He came into the game 2-for-24 in seven games. Delay went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, dropping him to a slash line of .074/.138/.111 in 29 plate appearances. He has had some rough times throwing out runners this fall and he went 0-for-2 in that category in this game, leaving him 2-for-16 for the AFL season.
Nick Mears has pitched well this fall, coming into the game with 5.2 shutout innings over five appearances. He kept that shutout streak going, but this was a rough performance. Mears walked the bases loaded, while striking out two batters. Just 16 of his 33 pitches went for strikes. He had allowed just two walks prior to tonight. Mears now has nine strikeouts and one hit allowed, giving him an .050 BAA.
