Hopes for wild card suffer a blow

After a series-opening win on Aug. 22, and a makeup game victory earlier in the day that brought them a game and a half closer in the wild-card standings, Lake Erie took a step back on Aug. 23, falling to Traverse City, 3-0, in seven innings in front of 1,288 fans at Sprenger Stadium.

The loss drops the Crushers (41-45) to 5 1/2 games back in the wild-card standings with three teams still in front of them, but Lake Erie manager Cameron Roth knows his players will continue to fight and believes the key is in how they adapt to their opponent down the stretch.

“Yeah, they just have to do the little things correctly and make an adjustment. You can’t go three innings without making an adjustment. Inning-by-inning, pitch-by-pitch, you have to make an adjustment,” Roth said. “If you can’t do that, then you’re not going to be successful.”

It was a tough night on offense for both teams as the matchup quickly turned into a pitcher’s duel between the Crushers’ Juan Caballero and the Beach Bums’ John Havird.

Caballero ran into a couple of jams throughout the night, but found his comfort zone on the mound at times.

He went 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven and allowing one run, five hits and five walks.

He was pulled after the Beach Bums’ (33-51) Nick Murphy broke through with an RBI single in the sixth.

Caballero’s counterpart, Havird managed to evade any real threat. Havird went seven innings, allowing five hits, one walk, while striking out seven.

Caballero placed himself in a jam in the third, walking three consecutive batters with nobody out. But the he struck out the side.

It was a crucial moment for the Puerto Rican native, as he screamed into his hat in excitement.

“Yeah man, most of the game I was missing the strike zone, but that’s what you got to do. You just have to breathe in and just take it easy,” Caballero said.

The Crushers offense that had thrilled its fans lately seemed to run out of gas in this one. Traverse City’s offense came to life late in the game. Arby Fields and Steven Patterson connected on back-to-back homers in the seventh off relief pitcher Justin Sinibaldi, giving the Beach Bums a 3-0 lead.

The Crushers’ Brandon Murray stretched his hitting streak to nine straight games, as he went 1-for-3 with a single.

The Crushers and Beach Bums will conclude their series on Aug. 24 at 6:35 p.m. at Sprenger Stadium.

Win in makeup game

As Lake Erie continues its push for a wild- card spot, Brandon Murray seems to have caught fire at just the right time.

The Nassau native belted two home runs, helping the Crushers top the Beach Bums, 6-1 in a makeup game from Aug. 10 in Traverse City. The effort stretched his home run streak to four straight games, with five dingers in four nights. He extended his hitting streak to eight games.

“The last couple weeks I have been trying to get started a little bit earlier at the plate to slow it down. I felt like I was hitting well when I came into the season. For a few weeks there it was tough. But for the last week or two, I have just been trying to slow it down and swing at the pitches I want to swing at,” Murray said.

While the game left off in the top of the fifth inning with the Crushers up 1-0, Murray got things going during his first at-bat in the the sixth, crushing a two-run shot over the right field wall. Murray connected again over the right field wall in the ninth, giving the Crushers a 4-1 lead.

Roth believes Murray will play a crucial role in the Crushers uphill battle to make the playoffs.

“He is seeing the ball well. He is just laying off the ball-speed and that’s the biggest thing with righthanded hitters facing lefthanded pitchers,” Roth said.

“It’s just something that the physical ability has been there. It’s just his approach that he had to lock in and he has been doing a heck of a job for the last week or so. So, we’re happy to see that.”

Jordan Dean dhad a tworun single in the ninth, giving Lake Erie the 6-1 lead.

The Crushers’ Jordan Kurokawa (6-4) picked up the win, going five innings while allowing one unearned run, five hits, one walk and striking out eight.

The Beach Bums’ Augie Gallardo (5-8) was saddled with the loss, going 4 2/3 innings while allowing five runs, four hits, two walks and striking out two.