Trenton faces Lawrence’s Schneider in ELDS
TRENTON » All manager Jay Bell wants from Brian Keller is what the right-hander has given him all season.
Keller gets the ball for the red-hot Thunder against New Hampshire in Game 1 of the ELDS at Detal Dental Park in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday night.
A 39th round pick out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the 24-year-old went 10-9 with a 3.74 ERA in 125 innings in the regular season and lasted at least five innings in nine of his last 10 starts.
“For the most part he’s been extremely consistent in how he’s approached the game,” Bell said. “He’s been really aggressive in the strike zone and done a fantastic job with the breaking ball and his change up has been one of the pitches he’s improved upon a great deal.”
He’ll need to be sharp against one of the most fearsome lineups in Double-A baseball. Managed by Lawrence High Hall of Famer John Schneider, the Fisher Cats feature EL MVP Cavan Biggio (.252/.388/.499, 26 HR, 99 RBIs), the speedy Bo Bichette (.286/.343/.453, 11 HR, 74 RBIs, 32 SB) and EL batting champ Harold Ramirez (.320/.365/.471, 11 HR, 70 RBIs).
New Hampshire led the league with a .272 batting average and 706 runs scored, while the Thunder posted a league-best 3.25 ERA.
“To win a championship, you have to pitch well and play good defense,” Bell said. “I like where we’re at right now with the additions we’ve got over the last couple days as well as the guys who have performed all year.”
The Fisher Cats counter in Game 1 with righthander T.J. Zeuch (9-5, 3.08), the Blue Jays’ firstround pick in 2016 out of Pittsburgh. The remainder of the Thunder’s rotation sets up as Nick Green, Nick Nelson, Trevor Stephan and Deivi Garcia, the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect who debuted with five no-hit innings
on Sunday.
There’s plenty of familiarity between the two teams. Not only did they play 17 times this summer (the Thunder won the season series, 9-8), but many of these players faced off last year in the Florida State League when Dunedin earned a share of the FSL championship by defeating Tampa in a playoff series.
“They’ve always been tough,” infielder Gosuke Katoh said. “We faced them last year in playoffs at High-A and it’s basically the same guys. We have to capitalize on their mistakes because they don’t really make many. They’re a really good team on both sides of the ball, so it will be tough, but fun.”
The Thunder enter the postseason having won 10 of their last 11 games, a hot streak that allowed them to overturn a two-game deficit and nip New Hampshire to the East Division title by two games. Yet the way the EL playoffs are set up, it sends the division champion on the road for the first two games with three to follow at Arm & Hammer Park.
Bell was asked if he felt a split in New Hampshire
was necessary.
“In the World Series in 2001 when we played the Yankees, we won four at home,” he said recalling that 2001 championship with the Diamondbacks. “I would prefer to win three straight. I don’t want to give them any advantage at all. My intention is not to have my guys think about winning one of two. My intention is to have them think about winning both and go into the series with the mindset that they are going to get after it every single pitch.”
The games are likely to be managed more tightly, too, so don’t be surprised if both Bell and Schneider play the matchups in later innings.
Translation: Thunder southpaws James Reeves and Phillip Diehl be ready to get Biggio out in the seventh inning or later.
“Throughout your career you kind of go into situations like that,” Reeves said. “Jay has done an awesome job this year of putting everybody in a medley of different situations, so we all feel prepared to do what we need to do to get the win.”