Bullpen helps Sky Sox avoid four-game sweep at home
It would be inaccurate to say Matt Wilhite had no room for error — he did, after all, survive a miscue behind him — but he was working in cramped quarters.
Entering a two-out, bases loaded situation in the eighth, Wilhite retired the final four batters to vindicate a struggling Sky Sox bullpen in a 4-3 win Sunday that thwarted Fresno’s attempt at a four-game sweep at Security Service Field.
Wilhite’s ninth save was made more difficult by second baseman Eric Young Jr.’s error that resulted in a run, but the sidearmer sent his club on a four-game road trip with its first victory since the All-Star break.
“We needed this one, obviously,” he said. “But it wasn’t just the bullpen, it was everybody coming through — the hitters, the defense, everybody.”
Fellow reliever Randy Flores also was clutch for a bullpen that was slapped around for 10 runs in 11 innings over the first three games. Flores struck out the only batter he faced with the bases loaded in the eighth before manager Stu Cole called upon Wilhite.
The offense provided just enough support, as Matt Miller’s double in the seventh — the only Sky Sox extra-base hit to go with 13 singles — scored Young for what proved to be the deciding run.
“That ball I hit was about 50 mph, kind of a floating curve,” said Miller, whose 65 RBIs lead the team. “Doubles always feel good, especially in a game like that because we’ve been kind of down. It’s a long season and we really haven’t had a stretch where we’ve lost more than two or three in a row. It’s good to see that we could bounce back.”
Cole could have done without the late-inning drama.
“When you get 14 hits and only score four runs it tells you that you’re not getting lot of hits with guys in scoring position or you’re just getting a lot of singles,” Cole said. “We just have to improve on a lot of things still.
“But we held them at bay. It could have been a lot worse.”
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