Tornadoes Game Notes July 31st: Worcester Looks To End Jackals Run

The Tornadoes efforts to earn their first three-game win streak of the season fell a bit short on Monday, as the Jackals exploded for 18 runs in their 18-5 win. Worcester will look to end their eight-game slide against the Jackals Tuesday behind southpaw Mike Gedman who is making his sixth start of the season.

Here are your daily Tornadoes tidbits:

1. Nunez Lighting Up The Scoreboard: Alex Nunez was the biggest bright spot for the Tornadoes on Monday night going 2-for-4 with a season-high three RBI. The three RBI were his season-high and the first time that he’s had multiple RBI in a single game this year. Last season Nunez had nine multi-RBI games, but the three RBI from last night tied his career-high over the past two years with the team.

2. Bright Spots In Relief: While the Tornadoes bullpen struggled mightily Monday night, two relievers pitched extremely well against the Jackals. Kyle Regnault continued his strong July pitching a scoreless inning to push his ERA over his past 10 outing to 2.70 with three runs allowed in his past 10 innings. Bryan Leigh pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third scoreless outing of the season-his second in a row against the Jackals.

3. Rewriting the 2012 Record Books: The Jackals 18 runs and 21 hits were season-highs for both the Jackals offense and the Tornadoes pitching staff. While the game was close through six innings (6-2), New Jersey exploded for nine runs in the seventh and tacked on three more in the eighth inning to blow the game open.

July 31st Tornadoes Game Notes vs. Jackals

Tornadoes Game Notes July 30th: Tornadoes Look For First Three-Game Win Streak

Happy Monday Tornadoes fans! It’s a beautiful Monday in Worcester and the Tornadoes have a chance to do something for the first time all season long-win three games in a row. What will they have to do to make it happen? Take down the Jackals for just the second time all season, as New Jersey has won seven in a row against Worcester and eight out of nine in a row.

Here are your daily Tornadoes tidbits:

1. Doubleheader Magic: Worcester earned their first doubleheader sweep of 2012 Sunday behind some clutch hitting late in both contests. The Tornadoes rallied from a 5-4 deficit in Game One before earning a walk-off win on a Jerod Edmondson single and fell behind 1-0 in Game Two before scoring three of the final four runs to come away with the 3-2 victory. For Worcester it was just their second doubleheader sweep in the past 15 doubleheaders they’ve played dating back to 2010.

2. Welcome to the show Mr. Jacobs. Matt Jacobs had a fantastic professional debut, reaching base four times with two hits and two singles, and scored twice. The 2010 UMass Lowell graduate had an RBI single in his first at-bat driving a ball into left field to give the Tornadoes a 2-0 lead in Game One. Jacobs later played a pivotal role in the Tornadoes game-winning seventh inning rally, as he walked to put runners on first and second before being wiped out on a fielder’s choice.

3. Nick Salotti Returns Part Two: The last time Salotti was at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, the former Tornado hit a game-winning two-run home run to give the Jackals a series sweep over the Tornadoes. In six games thus far against the Tornadoes, Salotti is hitting .458 (11-for-24) with six runs, seven RBI and the one home run. As a Jackal, Salotti is hitting .286 with 10 RBI and seven runs in 16 games.

July 30th Tornadoes Game Notes vs. Jackals

Wrapping Up The Rockland Series: Tornadoes Earn Third Series Win Of The Year

If you didn’t manage to make it out to one or more of the Tornadoes three-game set against the Rockland Boulders we’ve got you covered with our Tornadoes weekend recap. Worcester took two of three games to earn their third series victory of the season behind a doubleheader sweep on Sunday. Jerod Edmondson had himself a monster series with three hits on Friday night and three RBI Sunday including a walk-off single in Game One of the doubleheader. Tony Patane went 3-for-8 with three runs and three RBI and Nick Serino made appearances in all three games, earning a win, a save and five strikeouts while not allowing any baserunners in three perfect innings.

Friday July 27: Rockland 5, Worcester 4

Rockland jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings behind a two-run home run from Phillip Cuadrado and a Billy Alvino single but the Tornadoes would come roaring back. Cam Kneeland, Chris Torres and Edmondson each had RBI singles and Patane added an RBI double to tie the game at four after six innings. The Rockland Ryan’s would prove too much for the Tornadoes and losing pitcher Matt McDonald as Ryan Scoma led off the eight inning with a triple and Ryan Mollica plated him two batters later. Worcester would load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out but Adrian Martin closed the door for Rockland.

Game Highlights: Rockland 5, Worcester 4 July 27

Ryan Brockett Interview 7/27

Sunday July 29: Worcester 6, Rockland 5

After losing a thriller Friday night the Tornadoes turned things around in a big way on Sunday. The Tornadoes jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind RBI singles from two new faces in the lineup, cleanup hitter and designated hitter Mike Gedman and recently added UMass Lowell graduate Matt Jacobs. Rockland would tie the game at 2-2 and later grabbed a 5-4 lead in the fifth but Worcester answered right back. Gedman doubled to lead off the fifth and came in from third on a single from Cam Kneeland. Kneeland would play a big part in the Tornadoes winning rally, when he walked and moved over to third with two outs, before crossing the plate on Edmondson’s slow grounder up the middle that Brandon Pinckney had no play on.

Game One Highlights: 6 Tornadoes, 5 Boulders

Jerod Edmondson Interview After Game One 7/29

Sunday July 29: Worcester 3, Rockland 2

Keith Brachold opened up the scoring in Game Two of the day with a first inning home run just over the left-field fence to make it 1-0 Boulders. After failing to put a runner on base in the first two innings, Worcester put two runs on the board in the third inning when Edmondson added another RBI single and Ryan Brockett added a sacrifice fly to plate Cameron Monger. Rockland tied the game at two in the fourth inning when Phillip Cuadrado hit a single to the left-center-field gap and Mollica came into score. But Patane would add some more theatrics for Worcester with a solo blast over the left field fence to make it 3-2. McDonald and Serino came out of the pen to close the door, as Walker McKinven earned his first career win and Serino picked up his seventh of the year.

Game Highlights: Tornadoes 3, Boulders 2

Tony Patane 7/29 After Game Two

Nick Serino 7/29 After Game Two

Tornadoes Game Notes July 27th: Tornadoes And Boulders Begin Three-Game Set

By Seth Orensky

After a disappointing road trip to the Tri-State Area the Tornadoes return home to the HIP for Fireworks Friday trying to create some theatrics for the home crowd. Worcester has struggled mightily to being their second half of the season but they hope that the recent hot streaks from a couple of players are a sign of good things to come.

1. Johnny Welch, the Tornadoes cleanup hitter and third baseman, is going through another one of his power surges. Welch has a team-best five-game RBI streak coming in to Friday’s game and also carries a five-game hitting streak as well. Over the past five games, Johnny has hit .421 (8-for-19) with four extra-base hits, including three of of his 13 doubles. His 15 home runs put him in third place in the CanAm League and he’s second on the Tornadoes with 42 RBI.

2. Fans at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field will get to see their fifth former major leaguer of the season (Jose Canseco, Daryle Ward, Brian Myrow and Angel Berroa) when former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Gustavo Chacin takes the mound for Rockland. Chacin spent parts of five seasons in the majors with the Blue Jays and the Astros and accrued a record of 27-17 with a 4.23 ERA. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2010 as a reliever, before being released by the organization in 2011. Chacin still has connections to the majors, as his second cousin once removed is Colorado Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin.

3. Last but not least the Tornadoes made one more roster move since we last posted, when the team signed former University of Michigan (’10) pitcher Erik Katzman. The left-handed reliever pitched a handful of games with Pittsfield last season and threw a dozen games the London Rippers in the Frontier League. He made his Tornadoes debut Wednesday when he threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in Worcester’s 5-2 loss to the Jackals.

July 27th Game Notes

Tornadoes Game Notes July 23rd: Tornadoes Play First Series At Jackals In 2012

 

(Photo Courtesy of Matt Noonan)

The Tornadoes will continue their seven-game road trip Monday when they play their first game at Yogi Berra Stadium in 2012. After taking one of four against the red-hot Rockland Boulders, the Tornadoes will look to take their first series of the year against the Jackals after going just 1-6 against New Jersey thus far at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field.

Here are some quick hits for this series:

1. Johnny Welch will look to build off his huge series against the Boulders as the series begins Monday. Welch went 6-for-15 (.400) in four games against Rockland with six runs, two home runs and four RBI. Welch became the first Tornado all season long to hit three doubles, when the big third baseman went 3-for-5 with three two-baggers Sunday.

The other big note from the Rockland series was that the Tornadoes did something no other professional team had done since 1949. Chip Plante used a different pitcher in every inning of Friday night’s 12-3 loss to the Boulders, setting a bit of history. Tornadoes fan Darryl Hunt pointed out that the last time a professional team had used a different pitcher in every inning of a game was October 2, 1949, when the St. Louis Browns did it against the Chicago WhiteSox.

2. The Tornadoes continue to be busy with roster moves, as the team made a handful of moves during the course of the Rockland Series. Worcester added rookie pitcher Walker McKinven-a 2012 Georgia College product. McKinven spent his first two seasons with Division 1 Binghamton University in upstate New York, before spending his final two years as a reliever with the the Bobcats. With the addition of McKinven, the Tornadoes placed outfielder Brendon Kelliher on the disabled list retroactive to July 11th, as the left fielder is dealing with a right shoulder injury. Worcester also pulled off its first trade of the season,  adding former Brockton Rox infielder Melvin Falu in a deal that sent second baseman Brandon Pinckney to the Boulders.

3. Worcester will get its first look at Yogi Berra Stadium this season, the home of the Jackals and the Montclair State Red Hawks. Located in Berra’s hometown (Montclair, New Jersey), the stadium holds just under 4,000 fans and is only 15 years old. Located just across from the stadium is the Yogi Berra Museum and all the dimensions in the park end in eight, in honor of Berra.

July 23rd Tornadoes Game Notes

Tornadoes Game Notes July 19, 2012: Tornadoes Start 4-Game Set With Boulders

Worcester will take to the road looking for some better results after a tough homestand that resulted in a 1-6 record with six straight losses. The Tornadoes will be playing in Rockland for the third and final time this season after taking two of the first six games, Worcester and the Boulders will begin a four-game set Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Here are some Tornadoes updates:

1. Brandon Pinckney and Ryan Brockett two of the smallest players in stature on the Tornadoes roster both had huge home-stands. Pinckney hit .414 on the homstand (12-for-29) and extended his on-base streak to 27 games and his hitting streak to 11 games. The Tornadoes second baseman is second in the league in batting average by three points at .348 (Nick Giarraputo .351) and is second in on-base percentage by just two percentage points at .409 (Qualon Millender .411).

Brockett started in all seven games of the homestand in left field and extended his hitting streak to 9 games, while boosting his batting average by almost 50 points to .245. The rookie infielder also made a series of running catches in left field and recorded his first multi-RBI and multi-hit game as a Tornado with a 2 hit, 2-RBI contest Wednesday.

2. Brendon Kelliher and Phil Negus are both out of action right now due to injury. Kelliher suffered a right shoulder injury in the final game of the El Paso series on a diving catch. The Tornadoes left fielder is day-to-day and is hoping to be back within a week or two. Negus is dealing with an arm injury and his recovery timetable is still uncertain.

3. The Tornadoes 3-game sweep at the hands of the Jackals marked the first time this season that the Tornadoes have been swept at home this season. Worcester has only been swept three times this season (Amarillo and Laredo on the Texas trip) with all three series sweeps occurring in month of July.

July 19th Game Notes vs. Rockland Boulders

Game Notes July 17, 2012: Tornadoes Vs. NJ Jackals Game Two

Despite holding a 3-1 and 4-3 lead, the Tornadoes fell for the fourth consecutive day Monday night by a 10-4 score to the New Jersey Jackals. Rookie catcher Mike Samela made his third start of the season and crushed a home run and went 2-for-2 with two walks against New Jersey. Worcester will look to end their four-game losing streak with Kevin Cooper making his first start since his gem on Thursday night (6.2 IP, 0 runs, 4 hits) against the Gary SouthShore RailCats.

Here are some quick hits from today’s Game Notes:

1. Jerod Edmondson and Brandon Pinckney have had fantastic home-stands for the Tornadoes after the team’s 14-day road trip. Edmondson has had five extra-base hits in five games thus far with a .285 (6-of-21) batting average and three home runs. Pinckney has been even better, extending his hitting streak to a team-high nine games and 25 game on-base streak, with an 8-for-22 (.363) homestand. The Tornadoes second baseman is just four games shy of tying the league-high of 29 straight games reaching base and the league-high of a 13-game hitting streak.

2. While the Jackals posted 10 runs Monday night, the majority came off the bat of a surprising player. Starting catcher and nine-hole hitter Jeff Lanning went 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and three runs and three RBI. Lanning came into the game with just seven extra-base hits in 25 games and raised his batting average all the way from .238 to .274.

3. Despite only being outscored by 10 runs in the first five games of their homestand (1-4), the Tornadoes have really struggled in the final three innings of their contests. Opponents have outscored Worcester in 11-5 in the final three innings, including 7-2 in the eight inning of the five games. On the season, Worcester has been outscored 45-20 in the eight innings of contest.

July 17th Game Notes vs. New Jersey Jackals

Tornadoes Game Notes July 16, 2012: Five Quick Hits For The Series Against The NJ Jackals

The Tornadoes continue their seven-game homestand tonight when they face off against the New Jersey Jackals for a thee-game set. New Jersey comes into the series in second place in the Canadian American League at 30-24, while the Tornadoes are happy to be done with their 17-game interleague play stretch where they finished 4-13.

1. Red-Hot Giarraputo: The Tornadoes pitching staff will have to be wary of Jackals third baseman Nick Giarraputo who has been the hottest hitter in the league through half a season. Giarraputo leads the league by more than 20 points in batting average at .365 and is second in home runs (17) and RBI (49). In yesterday’s 6-5 win over Rockland, Giarraputo hit a two-run home run in the first inning to help his team take a three-game lead over the Boulders. In three games against the Tornadoes this season, Giarraputo went 3-for-10 with a walk, an RBI and five strikeouts.

2. Making The Most of An Opportunity: Ryan Brockett has made the most of his chance with Brendon Kelliher out of the lineup with a right shoulder injury. The University of New Haven product has hit safely in six straight games dating back to the El Paso series and has made several strong plays in left field, including a game-ending catch along the left-field line on Friday night with two runners on and the Tornadoes lead at 2-1.

3. Southpaws Galore: New Jersey will throw three left-handed starting pitchers in the three-game series with Dustin Birosak, Craig Clark and Isaac Pavlik taking the mound but what does that mean? Johnny Welch, Brandon Pinckney and Chris Torres should be the biggest benefactors with all three hitting well over .400 on the year against lefties. Welch has hit .300 points better (.500 vs. .200) on the season against lefties with four of his 12 home runs in just 22 at bats. Pinckney is hitting .444 on the year with five extra-base hits in 18 at bats, while Torres is hitting .417.

4. Salotti’s Return: Nick Salotti will make his first appearance at Hanover Insurance Park in an opponent’s uniform when he takes the field this evening. The former Tornadoes first baseman played four seasons with Worcester in which he hit 46 home runs, 198 RBI and crossed the plate 159 times in 313 games with the team. Salotti has had a single hit in each of his first four games with the Jackals and hit a go-ahead home run in last night’s 6-5 win over the Boulders.

5. Can He Do It Again: Dan Sausville will take the mound in Game One for the Tornadoes looking to replicate his success from the first time these two teams faced in early June. Sausville threw Worcester’s only shutout of the season to date in a seven-inning doubleheader, limiting New Jersey to five hits in a 3-0 Tornadoes win. Since throwing the complete game shutout, Sausville is 0-6 with 33 earned runs allowed in 47.1 innings pitched.

July 16th Game Notes vs. New Jersey Jackals

Stats Special, Round 1: The Essentials of the Leadoff Batter

Tommy Danko, Tornadoes Stats Intern

In backyard baseball games, kids always fight among each other to determine who will be the leadoff hitter, and maybe, these arguments play a more significant role in the end result of the game than it appears.  Every team aims to place their best hitters toward the front of their lineup to maximize their chance of scoring runs.  The goal of every great leadoff hitter is to get on base – by any means necessary.  A team’s chance of scoring drastically increases when they have not produced an out.  For example, when the Tornadoes get their leadoff hitter on base they have had a 44.90% chance of scoring him (about 4 out of 9 batters); however, when they get a non-leadoff hitter on base they have had a 37.02% chance of scoring that player (about 3 out of 9 batters).

Although the Canadian-American League does not have an all-star game built into their schedule to divide the season in half, the Tornadoes have just passed their halfway point, game 50.  Unfortunately, their record thus far stands at 17 – 37 (.315).  To examine whether the effectiveness of their leadoff hitters have contributed to the Tornadoes sub-.333 record, one can turn to the team’s first 54 game numbers.  Every inning of the first 54 games has been taken into account.  On average, the Tornadoes’ leadoff hitters combined have a .328 on-base percentage (OBP) of reaching a base (i.e. via a single, double, triple, homerun, walk, or error), where their opponents on average have a .337 OBP.

If a leadoff hitter gets on base, the Tornadoes leadoff hitters have a 44.90% chance of scoring once he reaches a base, where the opposing team’s leadoff hitters have a corresponding 51.14% chance of scoring.  Combining these two percentages together, one can estimate the likelihood of the leadoff hitters getting on base and then scoring before he even takes a swing at the plate.  The Tornadoes have a 14.89% chance of getting their leadoff hitter on base and scoring (i.e. approximately 3 out of every 20 leadoff hitters get on base and score), whereas their opponents have had a 20.57% chance (i.e. approximately 1 out of every 5 leadoff hitters get on base and score).  This deficit in scoring the leadoff man has played a huge impact because it has occurred over the course of 54 games, and if trends continue their deficit in scoring the leadoff man will continue to influence the final result of the next 46 games.

When the Tornadoes are able score more of their leadoff hitters than their opponent, they have a record of 14-3.  When their opponents score more leadoff hitters than the Tornadoes score, the Tornadoes’ record is 2-27.  Comparing these two situational records to their actual 17-37 record, it shows how important getting the leadoff man on-base and in turn bringing him home to score is to winning the ballgame.

The next time you get back to your seats from the concession stands for the beginning of an inning, give the team’s leadoff guy a little extra motivation by cheering as loud as you can and who knows, it might make the different between a win or a loss on the final scoreboard.

Worcester Tornadoes Game Notes: July 15, 2012 vs. Gary SouthShore

Through three games the Gary SouthShore RailCats and Tornadoes have played quite the exciting series, with all three games decided by a single run. The Tornadoes will look for a split of the four-game set Sunday when Chris Torres makes his first career start of his professional career against RailCats pitcher Stephen Hiscock.

Here are some of the highlights from today’s Game Notes:

1. Jerod Edmondson has been the most consistent Tornado all season long, playing and starting in all 53 games this season in center field and hitting either first or third in the Tornadoes lineup. But what his consistency even more impressive, is that the Johnson City, New York native is on his way to a career year. The five-year pro is on pace to easily break his career marks in home runs (17) and RBI (61) and could also set new standards for doubles (28) and steals (23).

2. Worcester has struggled to score runs at points this season but for the season as a whole they’ve averaged just under 4.5 runs per game. The interesting part about the Tornadoes offense has been how proportional they’ve been in distributing their runs scored. The Tornadoes have scored 20 or more runs in every inning but the fourth (excluding extra innings), and haven’t scored more than 36 runs (3rd inning) in any inning.

3.  The Tornadoes have seen strong professional debuts on back-to-back-to-back days from three 2012 graduates. Kyle Nisson (Quinnipiac University) started Thursday night’s game as the designated hitter and recorded the game-winning RBI when he was plunked by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Amherst College product Mike Samela finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Friday night’s 7-6 loss against the RailCats, while Cam Kneeland (UMass Lowell) finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a double as the shortstop in last night’s game.

July 15th Game Notes vs Gary SouthShore