Luis Garcia pitched the ninth inning. That's how bad things got for the Las Vegas 51s, as they concluded their series with the Oklahoma RedHawks by allowing 21 hits in a 12-1 loss Tuesday night at Cashman Field.
It was the first time that anyone could remember that the Las Vegas team home run leader pitched in a game. But after starter Mark Johnson gave up 12 hits in his two innings, and reliever Winston Abreu was tossed for two pitches that grazed Oklahoma batters, Las Vegas manager Terry Kennedy decided he'd seen enough and didn't want to use any more pitching.
His lineup card looked something like a bowl of alphabet soup, with various letters representing replacement players who made it in at various points in the game. Eighteen 51s made it into Tuesday's game.
"I wanted to give the bullpen some rest," Kennedy said. "We had some guys that needed some work, Farmer needed some work; Rod (Myers) needed to work on some things."
Oklahoma starter Juan Dominguez had a shutout going until Cody Ross' two-out double in the ninth brought home Chin-Feng Chen. He threw 116 pitches, allowing four hits and four walks. Dominguez did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, a bad-hop single by Jayson Werth.
But while the 51s pitching staff has usually been able to help the team stay in games when the offense struggled, Tuesday was a case when the pitching staff just couldn't keep up.
"We hadn't had one yet all year; we hadn't have a team crush us like that. Our pitching staff is pretty good; it keeps us in there," Kennedy said, adding that he was displeased with Abreu's pitching high and inside. Abreu's high shot against Oklahoma's Chad Allen was followed immediately by a three-run home run. Kennedy said that pitching around the head puts a player's career in jeopardy.
But after Troy Brohawn and Doug Nickle pitched Monday night, there wasn't much room for Kennnedy to negotiate in the bullpen. The decision to put Garcia in wasn't a tough one, he said.
"The game was over, and Nickle and Brohawn threw a lot the last five days, so I just let Luis throw," Kennedy said. "He'd pitched before, and I just told him to throw the ball over the plate."
Garcia pitched earlier in his minor league career, when he was in the Boston Red Sox organization. After the game, teammates jokingly referred to him as "the closer, Gagne," referring to Dodgers closer Eric Gagne.
"I was out there having fun; the game was bad, I didn't like it, but I tried to have fun," Garcia said. "I tend to control the pitch; when I threw strikes, I got some groundballs and strikes."
Garcia said he found out in the seventh inning he might be called upon in the ninth. It was right about the time that catcher Ryan Kellner was replaced by Eric Langill, while usual catcher Koyie Hill sat at first base, Garcia's usual spot.
"It was his first time behind the plate," Kennedy said. "I just wanted to give Koyie a break. Flores has been fighting (an injury), and I wanted to give him a break."
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