Baby Bombers win decisive third game
Kelvin Perez pitched five shutout innings and the Yankees did all their scoring in the second en route to a 5-1 victory over the Lowell Spinners in the decisive third game of their semifinal series.
Lowell was coming off a 3-2, 11-inning victory that squared the best-of-3 series at one win apiece. Thursday's game was postponed due to rain and there was no game Friday due to Sept. 11-related activities.
The layoff helped swing the momentum back to Staten Island, which chased six-game winner -- and New York-Penn League All-Star -- Yeiper Castillo (0-1) in the second.
Kyle Higashioka drew a one-out walk, took third on Mike Lyon's double and scored on Kelvin Castro's groundout. Castillo also walked Carmen Angelini before back-to-back singles by Jimmy Paredes and DeAngelo Mack produced two more runs.
Luke Murton greeted reliever Pedro Perez with another RBI single and Neil Medchill capped the inning with a run-scoring double.
Kelvin Perez (1-0) had no trouble protecting the lead, limiting Lowell to three hits and two walks while recording a season-high eight strikeouts.
The Spinners got on the board in the seventh on an RBI double by Game 2 hero Dan Butler. But Gavin Brooks and Ryan Flannery each pitched a scoreless inning to nail down the win.
The Yankees will face the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the best-of-3 Finals, beginning Monday on Staten Island.