‘Cats can’t snag it

By Andy Bitter

Published: April 28, 2008

Myrtle Beach reliever Kevin Gunderson and Lynchburg’s Steve Lerud have a largely one-sided history, one that dates back two years to the Low-A South Atlantic League and is heavily skewed in the lefty closer’s favor.
That didn’t change with the game on the line Monday night.
Gunderson struck out Lerud swinging with a runner in scoring position to finish the Pelicans’ wild 8-7 win at City Stadium.
The Pelicans (14-10) held their breath as Lynchburg, which trailed 8-1 at one point, scored six runs in the final two innings to get within one in the ninth with the tying run on second.
Lerud, a lefty, came up with two outs, precisely the matchup Myrtle Beach was hoping for. Gunderson, who leads the league with six saves, is armed with a nasty slider that is especially vicious against left-handed batters, who were hitting just .154 off him this season.
“The tough thing about him is he’ll start a few (sliders) at your head and a few down the middle,” said Lerud, who is 3-for-20 against southpaws this year. “The ones down the middle are the ones you’ve got to take, and the one at your head is the one you’ve got to be ready to hit.”
Sure enough, Gunderson threw all sliders. Lerud couldn’t touch them, swinging through the final one to end things.
“That’s a tough matchup there, but you want to have a good at bat, try to at least get something in the middle of the plate to hit,” Lerud said. “But he really didn’t give me much to work with there.”
Hillcats manager Jeff Branson still wanted Lerud at bat in that situation. The catcher had started Lynchburg’s comeback in the eighth, blasting a three-run homer to trim the lead to 8-4. It was his fourth home run this season, matching last year’s total.
The Hillcats (10-14) trailed 8-5 heading into the ninth before Chris Jones drew a leadoff walk and scored on Angel Gonzalez’s double to center, the first run Gunderson had allowed all season.
After two outs, Kent Sakamoto hit a single deep in the hole that shortstop Brandon Hicks threw away. Gonzalez scored to make it a one-run game, but that was as close as Lynchburg would get.
“You hope it starts early,” Branson said of the Hillcats’ late rally, “but it’s never disappointing.”
The Pelicans staked their lead against the Pirates’ No. 1 draft pick from last year, Daniel Moskos (2-1). Myrtle Beach strung together four singles in the fourth, the last a liner to the gap by Tyler Flowers that scored two runs to make it 4-1.
“It was pretty rough,” said Moskos, who threw primarily fastballs in his fifth High-A start.
The problem was location. He didn’t work the inner part of the plate as much as he would have liked. Myrtle Beach capitalized, leaning out and going opposite field for several of its hits.
“They did a really good job of that,” Moskos said. “Maybe if I had thrown a little more in … they wouldn’t have felt as comfortable in the box.”
Moskos got through the fourth quickly, thanks to a double play, but gave up two more runs in the fifth on Travis Jones’ second home run of the season.
Jon Mark Owings added a solo homer off reliever Blair Johnson in the sixth, and Myrtle Beach went ahead 8-1 in the eighth on a passed ball. It was the second-most runs the Hillcats have allowed this year.
Ryne Reynoso (2-1) earned the win for the Pelicans, giving up one run and striking out five in six innings.
NOTES: The Hillcats lost their stopper when Kyle Pearson was promoted to Double-A Altoona over the weekend. The right-hander had four saves and struck out 11 in 10 scoreless innings this year. … RHP Christian Castorri also went to Double-A over the weekend. Lynchburg filled the roster spots by activating LHP Charles Benoit from the disabled list and accepting RHP Matt McSwain from Low-A Hickory. … SS Brian Friday didn’t play after being hit in the head by a ball in Kinston. Branson expects him to be in the lineup tonight.