Close, but not close enough, that’s been the theme for the Fort McMurray Giants this season as they dropped their fifth straight game on Wednesday night at Shell Place, 6-2 to the Edmonton Prospects.
The Giants (0-5) looked poised to open the scoring in the bottom of the second with runners on second and third with none out. Despite the strong start to the inning, like it has been most of the season, the Giants had troubles driving in any runs and managed to score no runs in the second, as the game stayed 0-0 after two.
“We just have to get better with guys in scoring position,” Said Pat Riley, Manager for the Giants. “We had chances, and we didn’t get the key hit.”
After the scoreless third inning, the Prospects got on the board with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Giants came back in the bottom of the fourth to tie it up.
In the top of the fifth, the Prospects put up two runs and added two more, one each in the top of the seventh and eighth to take a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, with their rally caps on, the Giants had a golden chance to get back in the game with the bases loaded and two outs, with Keegan Marsden up to bat. Unfortunately for the Giants, the struggles with runners in scoring position continued as Marsden popped up to shallow left field to end the threat and the eighth inning.
Both teams scored one run each in the ninth inning, as the Prospects earned a two-game sweep over the Giants.
“We’re doing a little too much at the plate, guys are getting out of their zones,” Said Riley. “It’s more of a mental aspect, it’s about getting reps and timing. We need to get a lot better and we need to find balls we can drive, and take advantage of.”
Hector Benitez went 3-4 from the plate to up his average to .400 early on in the season, and for his efforts, earned the “Giant of the Game”, while Alex Nolan was credited with the loss for the Giants as he went 4.1 innings, giving up nine hits and three earned runs.
For the Prospects, five different players drove in a RBI, while Erik Sabrowski was nothing short of phenomenal on the mound. Sabrowski went seven innings, allowing just one run while striking out 13 batters.
“It was a pretty good start by Alex, he gave us a shot to win, and that’s all you ask from your starter,” Said Riley. “He’s got a good fastball and a good repertoire of pitches. He’s a big guy and he gets in on hitters. It’s tough when our pitchers are fighting to keep zeros on the scoreboard when our offence isn’t clicking, but it was another good start.”
The Giants will take advantage of a day off on Thursday, before hitting the field on Friday night to begin a three-game series against the tough Okotoks Dawgs.
“We’re all hands on deck right now, our bullpen will be rested up with the day off,” Said Riley. “We have a very tough weekend series coming up, but we have to regroup and focus on the Dawgs and do what we need to do to win some games.”
Tickets for Friday’s Giants and Dawgs game are available online at Giants Tickets, or at the Shell Place Box Office. You can also tune into the game on Country 93.3 beginning with the pre-game show at 7:20 p.m. with Taylor Pope, Brad Karp, and Darnell Duff.
