PCL rallies for Triple-A bragging rights

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PCL rallies for Triple-A bragging rights
07/16/2008 11:03 PM ET
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Pat Listach made a point of emphasizing to his players that Wednesday's Triple-A All-Star Game was an exhibition and that they should, first and foremost, have a good time. But the Pacific Coast League manager also was quick to point out that if the game was close after seven innings, he wanted his charges to start doing the things they needed to do to win.
Well, the game certainly was close after seven innings at Louisville Slugger Field. So it wasn't to surprising that the PCL squad took its manager's words to heart, exploding for six runs in a wild ninth inning before holding on for a 6-5 victory over the International League in front of a sellout crowd of 13,131.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the PCL in the Midsummer Classic and ensures the circuit of home-field advantage for the Bricktown Showdown on Sept. 16 in Oklahoma City.
Matt Brown of the Salt Lake Bees was named Major League Baseball Advanced Media' PCL Star of the Game, while Indianapolis Indians center fielder Andrew McCutchen took home the award for the IL. Syracuse's David Purcey started for the IL and pitched two perfect innings to earn Pitcher of the Game laurels.
"I told the guys to just go out and play and have fun in the first seven innings," Listach said. "But I told them that if we get to the eighth or ninth inning and it's a close game, then we have to start doing things like bunting and moving over runners and try to win the game. For the most part, you're putting on the show, but you have to try to win for the fans. And the guys did a great job tonight."
The International League pitching staff had the PCL stars handcuffed, allowing only three hits through eight innings. It was on the way to becoming the lowest-scoring contest in Triple-A All-Star Game history, a fact that seemed unavoidable when IL manager Dave Miley sent Toledo's Blaine Neal out to preserve a 2-0 lead in the top of the ninth.
Neal, who was named to the U.S. Olympic team earlier in the day, has converted 23 of 25 save opportunities and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any outing this season. Despite being two outs from sending the IL home with a victory, he couldn't hold the lead, getting tagged for six runs -- five earned.
Neal walked Oklahoma's Nelson Cruz with one out and a man on second before Tucson's Jaime D'Antona singled in the first PCL run. Brown, who had two hits and an RBI, followed with a single up the middle to bring home Cruz and tie the score, 2-2.
"We just started hitting," Brown said. "Good pitching always beats good hitting, but we battled. It was one of those things."
Mark Saccomanno of the Round Rock Express continued the onslaught with a single up the middle to put the PCL in front. Brown scored on an error by Richmond Braves first baseman Barbaro Canizares, at which point Neal's evening was done. Columbus' Garrett Mock came on to face Las Vegas catcher A.J. Ellis, who promptly doubled in two runs to make it 6-2.
Now it was Nashville's Luis Pena's turn to hold the lead for the PCL, and he fared only slightly better than Neal. He surrendered consecutive singles to Indianapolis' Brian Bixler and Pawtucket's Joe Thurston to begin the inning before McCutchen hit a long sacrifice fly to right to drive in his second run of the game.
Pawtucket's Chris Carter hit a mammoth homer to center two batters later to cut the deficit to 6-5, but the IL could draw no closer. PawSox teammate Jon Van Every flied out to right to end the game, a wild and woolly affair that had been benign for much of the evening.
"I was getting a little nervous there in the bottom of the ninth," Listach admitted. "Pena was our last pitcher. You try not to let your guys go too long or throw too many pitches in this situation. But he had four runs to play with and he got it done under four."
The IL had several opportunities to break the game open before taking the lead in the seventh. IL manager Dave Miley's team loaded the bases in the first, only to see that chance squandered as Toledo's Brent Clevlen struck out. The IL also had men on in the third, fourth and fifth, but the PCL bullpen proved equal to the task on each occasion.
The IL finally broke through with a pair in the seventh on an RBI single by McCutchen and Mike Hessman' grounder to third.
"I thought we were going to come back in the ninth," McCutchen said. "We gave it a run. It was a good game."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.