Bill on Baseball: Hoppers Can't Hold Early Lead for Braley
The Hoppers had a little offense early but Kannapolis had a little bit more late.The result was a 3-2 win for the Intimidators on a hot Wednesday afternoon at First National Bank Field.When Micah Brown swatted a two-run homer in the first inning and Lazaro Alfonso followed with a double,
The Hoppers had a little offense early but Kannapolis had a little bit more late.
The result was a 3-2 win for the Intimidators on a hot Wednesday afternoon at First National Bank Field.
When
But the left-hander regrouped and slammed the door from that point and reliever
Meanwhile, Hoppers starter
"He kept his fastball down and he had a good slider between 84 and 89 (miles per hour)," said pitching coach Mark DiFelice. "He 's been working on that and he attacked the zone with it."
The slider had the Intimidators swinging and missing at pitches that came in looking like strikes but broke out of the zone.
"The slider is what I went to today because I didn't have good control over my fastball," Braley said. "I've been working to make my slider harder, not as loopy, so it looks more like a fastball out of my hand. You have to make sure you're on time with your hips and body and don't overthrow it."
Braley extracted himself from a messy situation in the sixth inning when the first three hitters singled without a run scoring. Braley struck out one batter, then walked in a run but got a double play to end the inning with minimum damage and the Hoppers still leading, 2-1.
That lead held through the seventh, when reliever Manuel Rodriguez worked around a leadoff double without allowing a run. But in the eighth, Rodriguez surrendered a solo homer to
Besides his two-run homer, Brown made a fine defensive play at first base in the seventh inning. He dove to his right to stab a hard grounder by
"He can play everywhere," manager Todd Pratt said of his super utility man. "And everywhere he plays he makes a good defensive play. I wouldn't be afraid to use him in center field because he's a good athlete."
The Hoppers wrap up the series with a 7 o'clock game tonight.
NOTES: As well as the starters pitched, neither was involved in the decision … Johnson got the win and Rodriguez took the loss …