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Wahoos Lose To Jacksonville
June 2, 2014
It’s hard to stay positive when your team puts up a big fat zero on the scoreboard for the third time in four games.
But Pensacola Blue Wahoos left fielder Steve Selsky did Sunday, following a shutout loss, 4-0, to the Jacksonville Suns at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Selsky blasted two singles in four at bats, extended his hitting streak to six games and raised his season batting average above .300 to .302.
He said he and his teammates just need to simplify their approach at the plate.
“Guys are trying to do way too much,” said Selsky, who has gotten a hit in 10 of his last 11 games. “It’s hard to carry a whole team by yourself. You can’t go up to the plate saying, ‘I need a hit. I need a hit. I need a hit.’ You need a quality at bat. A good at bat leads to success.”
It’s that mindset that helped Selsky get the first hit in the fourth inning for the Wahoo’s off of Jacksonville Suns lefty starting pitcher Chipper Smith. Smith improved his record to 2-0, allowing just three hits in six scoreless innings. In his Southern League debut May 16, Smith blanked the Wahoos for four innings, giving up two runs in 5.2 innings of work.
“We haven’t handled lefties well,” Wahoos Manager Delino DeShields said. “(Smith) has baffled us.”
The game turned on an error by Wahoos third baseman Juan Silverio on a shot by Miguel Tejada that bounced off his glove and through his legs into short center field. The possible double-play grounder would have kept the score, 1-0. Instead the Suns added three runs, including a score by Tejada, to go up, 4-0, after three innings.
Unfortunately, Pensacola leads the Southern League in allowing unearned runs with 42 entering Sunday’s game.
Another not-so-good stat? The Blue Wahoos are now 0-8 in Robert Stephenson’s last eight starts and last won, 17-1, against Jacksonville on April 21. Despite Pensacola’s record, Stephenson, who’s considered the Cincinnati Reds top prospect, has pitched well with hitters batting just .200 against him.
However, Sunday was not his day, as he battled a stiff neck. He lacked his usual velocity and lasted just three innings, giving up four runs with two of them earned. Stephenson, who came into the game leading the league with 66 strikeouts in 58 innings, fanned just one batter Sunday.
by Tommy Thrall
Pictured: The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost to the Suns 4-0 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium on Sunday. Photos by Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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