MARION — Sorry we’re late.  We had a breaking story to cover.

Southern Illinois agreed to terms on a trade that would send left-handed pitcher to Ottawa of the independent Can-Am League.  Click here for the Miner Details exclusive story.

Click here for a pre-series notebook.

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Tonight’s forecast:  Variable clouds and scattered thunderstorms.  Chance of rain is 60 percent with a low temperature of 72 degrees.  Winds from the south-southwest at 5-10 mph. 

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Ryan Bird (5-3, 4.01 ERA) makes his 10th start of the season tonight.  Bird has won three straight appearances.  He pitched a complete-game, seven inning shutout in his last home start.  Bird also owns the franchise record for strikeouts in a game, with 10.  Bird is one of the Frontier League lead in strikeouts, with 56.  The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Bird, 23, has a high-80s, low-90s fastball with a good curveball and a changeup.  

Kalamazoo counters with righty Jeff Long (4-1, 4.21 ERA), who makes his 10th start of the season.  Long has one complete-game shutout this season.  Opponents have a .264 batting average against with 58 hits and six home runs in 57.2 innings.  Long has 26 strikeouts and 20 walks.  The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Long has a mid to high-80s fastball, a good slider and changeup, and a sinker.

First pitch, ball, 7:10 p.m.

First inning:
Righty Ryan Bird worked a 1-2-3 inning.  He got both right fielder Brandon Anderson and centerfielder Jeff Grose to strikeout swinging.  Second baseman Joseph Ramos flied-out to right.

Kalamazoo starter Jeff Long had little trouble with the Miners in the first.  Center fielder Kevin Koski grounded out to first, unassisted.  Second baseman Tony Roth flied-out to left.  First baseman Brad Miller drew a base-on-balls.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn struck out swinging.  0-0 MIners.

Second inning:
Bird has retired six straight.  Catcher Michael Russell grounded out, 6-3.  Shortstop Kyle Kmiecik struck out swinging.  First baseman Brendan Murphy grounded out, 4-3.

Right fielder Joey Metropoulos has nine hits in his last 12 at-bats.  His contribution tonight?  A leadoff homer to left.  Third baseman Brandon Jones flied-out to center.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano singled.  Catcher Brendan Akashian lined out to shortstop.  Scanzano was doubled up at first base, 6-3.  1-0 Miners. 

MARION — Southern Illinois and the Ottawa Rapidz of the Independent Can-Am League agreed to terms on a trade Tuesday that would send left-handed pitcher Reid Price to Ottawa for a player to be named later. 

Price, 25, said he would speak with his family and people he respected in baseball before he made a decision on whether to accept the trade.  He also said he would stay in Marion with his host family while he made his decision, which could come in a day or two.  If Price turns down the trade, the Miners would retain his rights for 2008 and suspend him indefinitely. 

Manager Mike Pinto said he expected “a high-quality player” to come either before the Frontier League trade deadline or after the completion of the season if Price accepted the deal.  Price was 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in seven starts for Southern Illinois. 

Pinto said Price requested a trade before the Miners’ series with Evansville last week.

“(Price) said that he wanted to play in an older environment with older players,” Pinto said.  ”He thought that might give him a better chance to get back to an organization.”

Price was selected by St. Louis in the 29th round of the 2005 MLB First Year Players Draft while at the College of Charleston.  He did not sign.

Price spoke to friends in baseball after Pinto told him about the deal Tuesday.  He said they told him he should accept the trade.

“They said it was a better league and the talent was better,” Price said.  “There are older guys.  I talked to a guy in the Atlantic League and he said to play there.”

Southern Illinois acquired Price’s rights via trade with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League on June 4 for future considerations.  The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Price had a 6.32 ERA, 14 strikeouts and four walks in 11 appearances out of York’s bullpen.  He allowed 11 earned runs on 20 hits over 15 2/3 innings.  

Price moved to the starting rotation when he came to the Miners.  It was a situation he was not 100 percent comfortable with, Pinto said.

“He wasn’t,” Pinto said.  ”The challenge was his (LS-1) status and his pay rate.  We could not have him as a middle-of-the-bullpen guy.  He was too expensive and his status was too high.”

Price said he would speak with Ottawa manager Ed Nottle “sooner rather than later” about how the Rapidz planned to use him.

“I will ask him about that, but if he wants to bring me in as a starter and he’s honest with me, I can handle that,” Price said. 

Southern Illinois and Ottawa have a history of trades.  Pinto sent starting pitcher Rob Wooley to Ottawa last season.  He got all-star third basemen Brandon Jones in return.

MARION — Windy City manager Brian Nelson resigned from his position Tuesday.  Nelson was suspended for six games following the ThunderBolts’ 4-2 loss to Gateway Sunday.  Coach Mike Kashirsky will assume managerial duties.

Click here for the Frontier League’s news release.    

The ThunderBolts (23-22) were one game behind the Miners in the FL West standings when Nelson resigned.  Windy City went 4-2 against Southern Illinois.  The Miners play at Windy City July 18-20.  The teams wrap up their 12-game season series August 26-29 at Rent One Park. 

Sizzling teams hook up for first time this season

MARION — Southern Illinois and Kalamazoo are the two hottest teams in the Frontier League.  At least right now.  But this week’s three-game series will cool one of them off.    

Southern Illinois enters the series tied with Gateway atop the FL West with a 24-21 record.  Kalamazoo brings in the league’s best record at 28-17.  The Miners and Kings are each 8-2 in their last 10 games.  Kalamazoo just wrapped up a three-game sweep of division rival Chillicothe.  Southern Illinois took two of three from River City.  

And the Miners are not content to stand pat.  Click here to read about a possible deal.

This series will be a test for both teams and their all-star managers, Mike Pinto and Fran Riordan.  

“Kalamazoo is an excellent team,” Pinto said.  ”Fran Riordan has put very good teams on the field for a lot of years and has very good success in this league.   This will be a good test for where we are right now.” 

The Miners flubbed the test last season with a 1-5 record against the Kings.  Chris Little was the pitcher of record in the Miners lone win.  New season, different teams.

“We’ve been playing good baseball,” Pinto said.  ”If we can continue to play good baseball we can compete every day.”

This should be one heck of a series.

The Miners (304) lead the Frontier League in runs scored, two ahead of Kalamazoo.  Southern Illinois has the highest hits total in the FL and the No. 2 team batting average at .282.  The Kings carry a .274 batting average and bring a mix of power and speed along with the FL’s No. 2 team ERA (4.37).  The Miners’ 4.84 ERA ranks fourth.

Kalamazoo boasts three elected all-stars in shortstop Kyle Kmiecik, catcher Mike Russell and pitcher Brandon Parillo.  Riordan also tabbed designated hitter Brendan Murphy and outfielder Simon Williams for all-star honors with his manager’s selections.  Russell and infielder John Ramos, who played third base,  were all-league selections in 2007.

While the Kalamazoo lineup is loaded with talent, Southern Illinois bookends the series with its top two starting pitchers in Chris Little and Ryan Bird.  Game two pitcher Brett Scarpetta has shown improvement in each of his starts.

“I like the fact we have Bird, Scarpetta and Little on the mound the next three days,” Pinto said.  ”They have some very good players.  One of my former players (at Sioux Falls), Kyle Kmiecik, is an all-star for them this year.  It will be good to see him and see what the Kalamazoo Kings are all about.”

Miners’ last 10 games:  As we noted, Southern Illinois was 8-2 in its last 10 games.  The Miners had a .291 batting average, 14 home runs and 66 RBIs over that span.  The team ERA was 2.20 with three shutouts, 70 strikeouts and 31 walks.

Kalamazoo’s last 10:  As hot as the Miners were, the Kings were even hotter with a .302 batting average, 20 home runs and 85 RBIs.  Kalamazoo’s pitchers had a 1.88 staff ERA, 59 strikeouts and 41 walks.  

How the teams fared against common opponents:  Kalamazoo is 14-10.  Southern Illinois has a 10-14 record.  The Kings took seven of nine games from Midwest while the Miners split the series, 3-3.  

Kings winning all season:  Kalamazoo has never been below .500.  The Kings have only been .500 once, at 1-1.  

Miners’ hitters at home:  Southern Illinois was 11-13 at Rent One Park entering the Kalamazoo series.  The Miners had a .274 team batting average (220-for-804) with 14 home runs and 121 RBIs.  SS Mike Scanzano batted a team-best .337 at home.  3B Brandon Jones had a .301 average, five home runs and 25 RBIs.  2B Tony Roth had a .326 average, one homer, 11 RBIs and a team-high 21 runs scored.  OF Eric Suttle owned a .308 batting average with three triples.     

Miners’ pitchers at home:  The pitching staff owned a 3.58 ERA entering Tuesday play.  Starters Chris Little (2.75 ERA) and Ryan Bird (1.35 ERA) were both 3-1 at home.  Starters Reid Price (0-2, 5.71 ERA), Nick Starnes (1-1, 4.30 ERA), Brett Scarpetta (0-1, 5.79 ERA) and Chris Allen (1-0, 0.00 ERA) were a combined 2-4 in 10 starts.  The Miners had 165 strikeouts and 71 walks at home.  

Miners’ opponents at Rent One Park: Foes had a .241 batting average with 12 home runs and averaged 4.21 runs per game. 

Kings’ bats on the road:  Kalamazoo brought a .287 road batting average, 25 home runs and 121 RBIs to Rent One Park.  Kmiecik batted .403 with two homers and team-bests with 18 runs scored, 20 RBIs and nine doubles.  Murphy hit .327 with three bombs and 13 RBIs.  2B Ramos had a .316 average, two home runs and 10 RBIs.  OF Simon Williams clouted five homers and 13 RBIs with a .311 average.   

Kalamazoo’s road pitching:  The Kings owned a 5.75 ERA and 9-9 record in 18 road games.  Kalamazoo had 114 strikeouts and 89 walks with 178 hits allowed for a .287 batting average.  Starters Jeff Long (2-0, 5.79 ERA), Trenton Lare (2-1, 7.36 ERA) and John Brownell (2-0, 3.78 ERA) were 6-1 in 12 starts.  

Top Kings’ hitters:  OF Brandon Anderson, a switch hitter, had the league’s No. 2 batting average (.357) with five home runs and 18 RBIs…DH Brendan Murphy had a .336 average with five home runs and 34 RBIs…C Mike Russell (.287 BA) had 12 home runs, second most in the league…Russell led the league in RBIs, with 43…2B Joseph Ramos (.243 BA) swiped 21 bases, No. 2 in the FL…Anderson tallied 20 stolen bases…Murphy tied for second in doubles, with 14.  

Top Kalamazoo pitchers:  RHP John Brownell’s seven wins were the second most in the FL…Brownell (7-1) had a 3.18 ERA, which ranked No. 8…Lefty reliever Brandon Parillo (3.38 ERA) led the league with 14 saves.

Weather forecast:
Tue. - Mostly cloudy and windy early with temperatures in the high 80s.  Variable clouds and scattered thunderstorms at night.  Chance of rain is 60 percent with a low temperature of 72 degrees.  Winds from the southwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour during the day.  Winds from the south-southwest at 5-10 mph. 
Wed. - Scattered thunderstorms and a 60 percent chance of rain during the day with a high of 81 degrees.  Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms at night with a low temp of 67 degrees and winds from the northeast at five to 10 miles per hour.
Thur. - Partly cloudy with stray thunderstorms.  Highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s. 

Game times:
Tue. - 7:05 p.m.*
Wed. - 7:05 p.m.*
Thur. - 7:05 p.m.*
*Games aired on WQUL 97.7 FM   

Probable starters:
Tue. - RHP Ryan Bird (5-3, 4.01 ERA) vs. TBA
Wed. - RHP Brett Scarpetta (2-2, 3.92 ERA) vs. TBA
Thur. - RHP Chris Little (5-1, 3.41 ERA) vs. TBA 

MARION — Southern Illinois may be tied for first place in the Frontier League West, but they are still looking to improve.  

The Miners are actively shopping a pitcher and a position player in an effort to fill out their starting rotation.

Manager Mike Pinto gave his team Monday off after 27 straight days of games.  He spent the off day working the phones.  

Southern Illinois was close to completing a deal last week for a 2007 all-star pitcher described as a “blockbuster” by both sides.  

A trade could be finalized as early as this afternoon.  Miner Details will post any new information from Rent One Park.

CARBONDALE – Southern Illinois and Frontier League West Division all-star manager Mike Pinto filled out his roster Monday.

Pinto tabbed Miners Tony Roth and Jake McMurran for two of his three manager’s choice spots.  Evansville’s Justin Randall rounded out roster additions as an outfielder. 

The 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game will take place July 16 at Traverse City.  Southern Illinois boasts a league-best seven all-stars.

Roth was an easy choice who just missed out in the West’s talent-rich second base spot to Rockford’s Joe Anthonsen and Windy City’s Gilberto Mejia.  Roth compiled a league-best 34-game on-base streak as well as a 16-game hitting streak.  His .313 batting average leads all Miners with more than 100 at-bats.  Roth also leads the Miners with a .421 on-base percentage.

McMurran was a tougher choice because Miners starting pitcher Ryan Bird (5-3, 4.01 ERA) has 56 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.  Pinto said McMurran’s high number of all-star votes and 3.22 ERA over 22 appearances – the ninth best ERA in the league – were deciding factors.

Randall ranks third in the league in both batting average (.351) and on-base percentage (.458).  He leads Evansville in hits and has walked 29 times with 17 strikeouts.

Note:  Coaches Bart Zeller, Brad Hall, Ralph Santana, and Ron Biga will join Pinto at the game.  Trainer Chris Stone will also represent the Miners.

MARION – Miners’ manager Mike Pinto will perform a career first at the 2008 Frontier League All-Star game.

Pinto, who coached in an all-star game, will lead an all-star team for first time in his four-year managerial career at the professional level.  Pinto earned the honor because the Miners (24-21) had the best record in the FL West at the close of Sunday’s games.

“It’s a tremendous for our coaching staff and a tremendous honor for our organization in its second year to do this,” Pinto said.

Pinto made no secret of his desire to lead the team in the days leading up to Sunday’s 7-1 loss to River City at Rent One Park. Windy City’s 4-2 loss to Gateway Sunday ensured the Miners’ skipper would manage the team.

“I did want this,” Pinto said.  “I think we have a couple players that should be there.  Now I have an opportunity to add to the list.”

As all-star manager, Pinto may add three players to his roster.  He said he would speak with his players as well as other FL West managers about those additions.  The league will announce his selections today.  

Five Miners were elected to the July 16 all-star game in a vote of FL West managers, coaches and media members.

General manager Tim Arseneau said Pinto earned the honor through tenacity.

“Mike has worked hard to get to this position,” Arseneau said.  “I think he’s assembled a great team.  Early in the year the team went through some adversity, but now they have the best record in the division.”

All-star shortstop Mike Scanzano, a two-time selection, said things worked out perfectly for the Miners and their coaches.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Scanzano said.  “It was well deserved for Mike and the coaching staff.  I’m glad they’re going and we’re going to have a good time.”

Coaches Bart Zeller, Brad Hall, Ralph Santana and Ron Biga plan on accompanying Pinto to the game.  All-star festivities begin July 15.

MARION — It had to end sometime.

Southern Illinois’ five-game winning streak came to a close Sunday at Rent One Park with its 7-1 loss to River City.  The loss dropped the Miners’ record to an FL West best 24-21.  River City improved to 22-23.

The Rascals out-hit the Miners, 11-7, on a night when manager Mike Pinto said he thought his team played tight after failing to score in a bases-loaded situation in the first inning.  Southern Illinois scored its only run on a Brandon Jones’ single in the sixth inning.  Joey Metropoulos had three singles in four at-bats.  No Miner had an extra-base hit.

Starter Reid Price gave up seven earned runs on eight hits.  He struck out five and walked one in 4.1 innings.  Price’s record dropped to 2-2.  Relievers Jake McMurran, Griffin Bailey and Armando Carrasco allowed three hits in a combined 4.2 shutout innings.

Rascals’ starter Danny Powers (3-3) went seven innings, allowing only five hits and one earned run with six strikeouts.  Luis Estrella and Mike Benacka pitched a scoreless inning apiece to close out the game.

River City’s A.J. Van Slyke drove in a game-high two RBIs.  Jonathan Miller had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.  River City had four doubles and two triples.  

Luke Barganier’s double scored Curt Marshall from second base in the first inning.  Van Slyke followed Jacob DeBoer’s single with a run-scoring sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.  It was the first deficit Southern Illinois faced in 48 innings.

Will Basom’s single plated Miller for a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.  river City added four runs in the fifth on Van Slyke’s run-scoring triple, Brad Hough’s single and Miller’s triple.  

The Miners have an off day Monday.  They reopen play at Rent One Park on Tuesday against Kalamazoo at 7:05 p.m.

Note:  Pinto will manage the West at the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game at Traverse City on July 16.

Pinto on the early missed chance:  “To be honest with you, last night (for River City) was kind of like tonight (for Southern Illinois).  We had an opportunity in the first inning — bases loaded, one out — and we had two strikeouts and that’s kind of the end of our offense for the night…We didn’t have a lot of good swings tonight, period.”

Pinto on whether his team was over-confident entering the game:  “I don’t think it was over-confidence.  The guys seemed tight all of a sudden.  When we didn’t get the runs in the first inning, which we’ve been getting lately, all of a sudden it felt like we got tight and then guys were pressing with their swings.”

Pinto on Bird:  “It was a rough start.”

Pinto on whether Metropoulos can turn his singles into more extra-base hits:  “Sure.  It’s something we saw with Tim Dorn a couple weeks ago where he was getting singles and all of a sudden — whack! — there’s the power again.  I’m not worried about him.  He’s going to hit for power again.  I think guys are pitching him a little more carefully because he was hot.  Then, you’ve got to take what they’re giving you.  If they’re giving you singles you take them.”

Pinto on former Rascal and current Miner Randy Rosa being hit by a 3-0 pitch:  “He was hit by the pitch, curiously…There is no question in my mind they hit him on purpose.”

Pinto on his team’s turnaround:  “When you think back two weeks ago, we’re in River City and they’re chanting in the stands, ‘Last-place Miners!’ so, I’d say that’s a pretty good turnaround in two weeks…Let’s face it — everybody was all bunched up, but they (the fans) were having some fun with us.   We certainly appreciated their catcher (Andrew) Sweet turning around and telling them to knock it off.  It showed some class on his part, certainly.  It’s certainly a good turnaround the last two weeks, but it’s a long season…This is just a blip.  There comes a time when you’re not going to be hot every night.”

Pinto on giving the team Monday off:  “I jokingly said to them, ‘Hey, I’ll get our early work from 8:30 a.m. to 11 (or) 11:30 a.m.  I’ll get you out of here by then.’  They know I was joking.  We need it.  Twenty-seven straight days with a game, it’s tough on guys and a lot of guys played all 27 of those days.”

Price on his start:  “I just didn’t pitch well, point blank.  I was up from the get-go.  Every curveball and every cutter was up and when they’re up, they’re real easy to see…I just didn’t feel like I had good stuff.”

Price on the team:  “I don’t know why we were flat today.  It’s kind of weird.  Big Sunday night game going for a sweep.  You could feel it on the field.  It’s not like we didn’t prepare or everybody’s head wasn’t in it, the effort was still there.” 

Metropoulos on Powers:  “I’ve got to tip my cap to him.  He did a great job of keeping the ball down…The umpire had a good (strike) zone for him down low.  It’s like you either swing and miss or hit a ground ball or it’s called a strike.  It was tough.  I just tried to play into that game.  You can change the way he (the ump) is going to call, you can’t change the way he (Powers) is going to pitch, so you just have to adjust.”

Metropoulos on his simple approach:  “I’m just trying to see the ball and hit it, really.  I’ll take them (the hits) in any way, shape or form.”

River City pitching coach Steve Brook on the win:  “We kind of treated it that way (as a must-win game).  We have a six-game homestand coming up and we just wanted to get out of here with a win.  If we can go home and win two series, we’ll finish before the break one game over .500.  If you can do that you’ll be in the race in the second half.  It’s really a big psychological win for us.  It was one of our best games of the year.  We pitched the ball well, had really good defense, and we executed.  That’s something we haven’t had with our offense lately.  We played a really good game…As bad as we’ve been playing the last two or three weeks, we still have not gotten swept in a series.  That’s something to be proud of because we could have easily gotten swept…We could be out of this thing right now with the way we’ve played and we’re happy to still be around.”

Brook on Powers:  “Danny is a Double A guy.  He pitched at the Double A level.  He doesn’t blow people away with his fastball.  He’s 85, 87, but he keeps it down, moves it around and gets a lot of ground balls.  In this ballpark the infield is really slow and a ground-ball pitcher can have a lot of success with good defense.”

Brook on Rosa being hit:  “Rosa doesn’t have any bad blood here.  We’re fine with Rosa.  Danny was tired and if you’re going to hit a guy you try to do it on the first pitch, not when it’s 3-0.”  

Score by inning     R H E
RVC 002 140 000 - 7 11 0
SIL   000 000 100 - 1  7  1

E - Miller, B. DP - Rascals 1. LOB - Rascals 7; Miners 12. 2B - Barganier,
L; Miller, J; Marshall, C 2. 3B - Van Slyke, A; Miller, J. HBP - Koski, K;
Victor, M; Miller, B; Rosa, R. SH - DeBoer, J; Sweet, A; Stone, G; Roth, T.
SF - Van Slyke, A; Sweet, A. SB - DeBoer, J; Hough, B; Miller, B.

River City
Powers………..7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 3 HP, 24 AB, 29 BF 
Estrella………..1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5 AB, 5 BF
Benacka………1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HP, 3 AB, 3 BF 

SI Miners
Price…………..4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 18 AB, 23 BF
McMurran…..2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 8 AB, 9 BF
Bailey…………1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5 AB, 5 BF
Carrasco……..1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3 AB, 3 BF 

Win - Powers, D (3-3).  Loss - Price, R (2-2).  Save - None.
HBP - by Powers, D (Koski, K); by Powers, D (Miller, B); by Powers, D (Rosa, R);
by Benacka, M (Victor, M).
Umpires - HP: Joe Harris  1B: Dan O'Connell  3B: Bruce Doane
Start: 7:12   Time: 2:38   Attendance: 4885

MARION — Digital video recorders are a wonderful invention, especially when the Wimbledon men’s final starts early on Sunday morning.  I would imagine River City is glad last night’s game wasn’t DVR-ed, though the team could watch a replay on the Miners’ Webcast if they wanted to see where things went wrong.

Fast forward to the fourth inning of the Miners’ 13-2 win for the break point in River City’s chance to take the match.  Eight hits, seven runs and 13 men to the plate ended any thought of a comeback in spacious Rent One Park.  

The win was a big one for the Miners.  Not only did it and a Windy City loss give Southern Illinois sole possession of first place entering today’s game, but the win also got the Miners’ coaching staff one step closer to taking a trip to the 2008 Frontier League All-Star game in Traverse City.  

If the Miners win today, Mike Pinto and his crew will get the nod as the West Division’s coaching staff.  Pinto wants that honor badly.  And if Pinto goes, don’t be surprised if Tony Roth and Ryan Bird follow him up there as manager’s choices.  Pinto has three picks.  Maybe Jake McMurran could also take the trip north.

Pinto was ebullient in the clubhouse when he heard Gateway beat Windy City, 6-4.  Now the Miners need to take care of business today.  If they tie with Windy City, ThunderBolts’ manager Brian Nelson gets his ticket punched to Traverse City.  Windy City leads the season series, 4-2.

Pinto was asked Saturday how important a sweep was.  ”I want to win tomorrow,” he replied.

So does the team for a couple different reasons.

“We definitely want to beat these guys in a series and of course give our coaches a chance,” all-star pitcher Chris Little said after Friday’s shutout win.  ”As coaches, it’s well deserved and we’re trying to wrap up first place by (July 6).  Once we get in first place we don’t want to look back.”

I asked Joey Metropoulos if getting the coaches to Traverse City was something the team talked about heading into this series.

“Yes and no,” Metropoulos said.  ”You want to, obviously, but for the most part we want to be in first place.  It’s a great opportunity for them to go and it’s well deserved, but we’re just playing right now to get into first place and staying there.  That’s what we’re thinking about.”

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Today’s forecast:  Mostly sunny during the day with a high temperature of 88 degrees.  Variable clouds with light an variable winds and a low of 70 is what fans can expect tonight.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Lefty Reid Price (2-1, 3.30 ERA) makes his seventh start of the season tonight with a chance to even his record to 1-1 at home.  Price has given up 11 earned runs in 30 innings.  Opponents carry a .241 batting average against him.  He has 27 strikeouts and 12 walks.  Price gave four runs on eight hits in a five-inning no-decision against River City earlier this season.  The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Price has a high-80s fastball, a slurve and a changeup.     

Right-hander Danny Powers (2-3, 4.60 ERA) looks to end the Rascals’ two-game losing streak.  Powers has allowed 22 earned runs on 54 hits in 43 innings over eight starts.  He has 45 strikeouts with 15 walks.  Opponents are hitting .289 against.  Powers gave up five earned runs in a six-inning no-decision with Southern Illinois in the last season.  He squares off against price for the second time this year.  The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Powers has a sinker, a high-80s fastball, a cutter, a curve and a changeup. 

We’ll be back if there is any news.  If not, see you after the Rascals take their first-inning at-bat…

First pitch, strike, 7:12 p.m.

First inning:
Lefty Reid Price started the game out in the stretch and held the Rascals scoreless even though they played for a run.  Center fielder Luke Barganier reached base on Brad Miller’s throwing error to Price at first.  It look like Miller tried to throw the ball to the glove side for a right-handed pitcher.  Second baseman Jacob DeBoer bunted Barganier over to second.  Right fielder A.J. Van Slyke grounded out, 6-3.  Third baseman Brad Hough had a pesky at-bat and forced Price to throw 11 pitches for a swinging strikeout. 

The Miners played for a run off Danny Powers, the Rascals’ right-handed starter.  Two men were stranded in scoring position.  Powers hit center fielder Kevin Koski with a 2-2 offering.  Second baseman Tony Roth laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Koski to second.  Powers hit Miller to put on two runners.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn struck out swinging.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos’ infield single loaded the bases.  Koski moved to third, Miller to second.  Third baseman Brandon Jones struck out swinging on three pitches.  0-0.

Second inning:
Price cruised through a 1-2-3 inning.  First baseman Jeff Miller flied-out to left.  Left fielder Andrew Sweet went down looking on three pitches.  Designated hitter Will Basom flied-out to right.   

The Miners went down in order.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano grounded out, 4-3.  Catcher Brendan Akashian hit to the same spot with the same result on the same count, 1-2.  Left fielder Eric Suttle grounded out, 6-3.  0-0. 

Third inning:
The Miners trail for the first time in the last 48-plus innings.  Catcher Curt Marshall scalded a double down the third base line past a diving Jones.  Shortstop Greg Stone’s sac bunt moved Marshall to third.  Bargainer’s double to left scored Marshall for a 1-0 lead.  DeBoer’s single to left advanced Barganier to third.  DeBoer stole second during Van Slyke’s at-bat.  Van Slyke’s sac fly to left scored Barganier for a 2-0 lead.  Hough struck out swinging on three pitches.     

Southern Illinois got a leadoff runner but came up empty in the third.  Koski earned an infield single on ground ball to second base.  Roth grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.  Miller reached on an infield single to shortstop.  Miller stole second base during Dorn’s at-bat.  Dorns struck out swinging.  2-0 Rascals.

Fourth inning:
River City added another run in the fourth.  Miller pulled a double down the first base line.  Sweet’s 1-3 sac bunt moved Miller to third.  Basom’s single to right scored Miller for a 3-0 lead.  Marshall’s 1-4 fielder’s choice erased Basom at second base.  Stone struck out swinging for the final out. 

Southern Illinois could not cut into River City’s lead in the fourth.  Metropoulos struck out swinging one pitch after he lost the grip on his bat and sent it sailing into shallow left field.  Jones grounded out, 6-3.  Scanzano grounded out, 5-3, on the first pitch he saw.  3-0 Rascals. 

Fifth inning:
Southern Illinois is in quite a hole and Price is in the dugout.  Barganier took a base-on-balls.  DeBoer struck out swinging.  Van Slyke’s triple to the right-center gap scored Barganier for a 4-0 lead.  Hough’s bloop single to left scored Van Slyke.  Pitching coach Brad Hall and Akashian met with Price on the mound.  Price balked as Hough took off towards second base.  Miller tripled to left-center when Suttle took a shallow angle towards the liner.  6-0 Rascals.  Manager Mike Pinto took the ball from Price.  Right-hander Jake McMurran (1-1, 3.48 ERA) took over with a man on third and one out.  Sweet’s sac fly to center scored Miller for a 7-0 advantage.  Basom went down swinging.  
Price’s line:  4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 5 SO, 1 BK 

The Miners went down in order for the second straight inning in the fifth.  Akashian grounded out, 3-1.  Suttle grounded out, 6-3.  Koski flied out to right.  7-0 Rascals. 

Sixth inning:
McMurran worked around a leadoff base runner in a scoreless sixth.  Marshall doubled to left.  Stone grounded out, 6-3.  Barganier flied-out to center.  DeBoer flied-out to right.   

The Miners showed a little life in the sixth and Pinto will lead the FL West all-stars at Traverse City because Windy City lost to Gateway, 4-2.  Roth grounded out, 6-3.  Miller lined out to second base.  Randy Rosa (.250 BA) took over for Dorn at DH.  Rosa said Friday he thought the Rascals would send a pitch at him after he signed with the Miners when River City released him.  Rosa got hit with a 3-0 pitch.  Metropoulos singled to right-center.  Rosa moved to second.  Jones’ single up the middle scored Rosa, who slid head first into home.  Scanzano struck out swinging.  7-1 Rascals.

Seventh inning:
McMurran motored through a scoreless seventh.  Van Slyke grounded out to first, unassisted.  Hough went down swinging.  Miller fouled off four two-strike pitches before striking out swinging.   

Nothing doing for the Miners in the seventh.  Powers came back out to pitch the seventh as righty Luis Estrella warmed up in the Rascals’ bullpen.  Akashian took a five-pitch walk.  Right-hander Griffin Bailey warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen as Suttle took his at-bat.  Suttle grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice as Akashian had a great takeout slide at second base.  Willie Keene (.286) pinch hit for Koski and grounded out, 4-3.  Suttle moved to second.  Mike Victor (.293) pinch hit for Roth and struck out swinging on three pitches.  7-1 Rascals.  

Eighth inning:
Right-hander Griffin Bailey (3-2, 1.88 ERA) relieved McMurran and held the Rascals scoreless.  Keene took over in left as Suttle moved to center.  Victor went to second base.  Sweet grounded out, 4-3.  Basom blooped a single to left.  Marshall followed with a single.  Stone grounded out, 6-3.  Basom moved to third and Marshall advanced to second.  Barganier grounded out, 3-1.    
McMurran’s line:  2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO.   

Right-hander Luis Estrella (0-0, 3.12 ERA) relieved Powers in the eighth.  Miller lined out to shortstop.  Rosa grounded a single to left.  Metropoulos lined a single to left.  Rosa moved to second.  Jones struck out swinging.  There is an interesting interpretation of the strike zone here in the eighth inning.  Jones was called for strike one on a pitch under his armpit.  Strike two was low and outside.  Jones struck out on a high fastball.  Scanzano flied-out to left.  7-1 Rascals.
Powers’ line:   7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HP.

Ninth inning:
Armando Carrasco (2-1, 4.29 ERA) relieved Bailey in a scoreless ninth.  DeBoer grounded out, 6-3.  Van Slyke grounded out, 5-3.  Hough took a seven-pitch walk.  Miller flied-out to center.
Bailey’s line:  1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO.   

Right-hander Mike Benacka (0.43 ERA, 10 SV) locked down the win for River City.  Akashian struck out swinging.  Suttle took a walk.  Keene struck out swinging.  Miller walked to load the bases.  Rosa grounded out, 3-1, to end the game.  Final score: Miners lose, 7-1.

MARION — It may be lonely at the top, but the view sure is nice.  

Southern Illinois moved into sole possession of first place in the Frontier League West with a 13-2 win over River City in front of 4,228 fans at Rent One Park.  The Miners got six shutout innings from rookie pitcher Chris Allen and the bats pretty much ended any discussion of a loss with a seven-run fourth inning.

Southern Illinois sent 13 men to the plate in the fourth and knocked *eight* base hits off starter Chris Clem, whose record fell to 3-5.  The Miners were up by 10 runs when the inning ended.

Southern Illinois out-hit River City, 16-9.  Joey Metropouos finished with four hits in four at-bats with a base-on-balls and four RBIs.  Brandon Jones drove in three runs.  Willie Keene had a pair of singles and two RBIs.  Tony Roth had a double, a single, two runs scored and an RBI.  Brad Miller scored three times.    

Allen made his first professional start Saturday and overcame River City’s opening salvo in the first.  He loaded the bases on a double, a hit batter and a walk before bearing down with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around an infield pop-out.  After that it was smooth sailing.  Allen finished with three strikeouts and two walks.  He allowed six hits.

River City scored a pair of seventh-inning runs off reliever Jake McMurran to snap a 25-inning scoreless streak by the Miners’ pitching staff.

The Miners plated a pair in the first on run-scoring singles from Metropoulos and Jones.  A Metropoulos double in the third drove in Tim Dorn for a 3-0 lead.

Southern Illinois added three more runs in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to Metropoulos, Jones’ 6-4 fielder’s choice and Keene’s single.

Southern Illinois’ defense turned double plays in the second, sixth and ninth innings.  The Miners kept a run from crossing with a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a Metropoulos-to-Roth-to-Brendan Akashian putout at the plate. 

The Miners improved to a season-best four games over .500 and sit atop the division with a 24-20 record.  Southern Illinois has won five straight games.  River City fell to 21-23, three games off the pace.  The Miners entered Saturday’s game tied with Windy City, which fell to 23-21 after losing to Gateway.

Southern Illinois goes for its second-straight series sweep in Sunday’s 7:05 p.m. game with River City at Rent One Park.

Mike Pinto on the seven-run fourth:  “They found holes, they ran balls out, they eked out a couple that went our way.  You put seven-spot up, you’ll take them any way you can get them.”

Pinto on Allen being battle-tested in the first inning:  “Boy, you’re not kidding.  It showed us something.  I’m sure it showed his teammates something about his composure.  He didn’t get flustered, just kept on pitching.  What a tremendous first performance for him and a good sign of things of us.”

Pinto on the Miners’ good infield defense:  “We’ve had so much of that.  There were a number of key plays.  Scanz (Mike Scanzano) made a couple, Jonesey made a couple.  A key play early was Roth throwing the guy out at the plate (in the second inning).  That may have turned — all of a sudden now it’s a 2-1 game (if he doesn’t make the play).  It sent the momentum back our way.”

Pinto on Akashian’s performance behind the plate:  “He’s done an extraordinary job since he got here.  His pitch selection, his ability to receive the ball, his control of the game — he really has been a tremendous, I don’t want to say surprise because his reports were certainly good, but certainly a tremendous addition for us.”

Pinto on Metropoulos’ night at the plate:  “He really had a good approach.  He drove the ball the other way.  He didn’t try to do too much.  He took what they gave him and he ended up 4-for-4 with a walk (and four RBIs).  That’s a good night.  I don’t care where you are.”

Pinto on being in sole possession of first place:  “It’s certainly a good feeling, but there is a lot of season left to go.  But I’ve said all along if we play good baseball the wins will come and the streaks will come.  That’s kind of what’s happened.  We’ve been playing good baseball for the last week or so.”

Pinto on his team’s attitude:  “I would say very confident.  That’s probably the best word.  They are very confident.  The offense knows they can score runs.  All of a sudden the pitchers are putting up five, six, seven shutout innings to start a ball game and that’s something we were missing early on.  Now that we’re getting that, and we’re getting runs early, the games are very different for us.  We’re not coming from behind.  We’re not having to salvage the game late.  We’re not having to do that now.”

Pinto on the importance of getting a good start from Allen:  “It was very important.  We certainly had Nick Starnes available to come in, in relief…I just had confidence that (Allen) was going to come in and get the job done tonight.”

Pinto on Jones’ 6-4, run-scoring fielder’s choice that was almost an inning-ending double play:  “It was (close).  Sometimes they (calls) go for you, sometimes they go against you.”

Metropoulos on his night at the plate:  “The last few weeks I think I’ve just been pressing.  Everybody else was hitting home runs, our whole team was hitting well.  Tonight I think I just finally relaxed and let the game come to me instead of trying to do too much and it paid off.  I hit a few balls hard and the others just squeezed through, but you take it any way you can get it.  Hopefully I can build off it.”

Metropoulos on Allen:  “Him getting out of that jam in the first inning helped out a lot.  That’s where it just turned around and we knew if we could put a few runs up, we could win this game.  He showed good mound presence.  He went right after guys.  I loved the intensity.”

Akashian on being a magnet for base runners at the plate:  “I don’t know.  There have been a couple.  I kind of like those situations.  I’m sure someone will get me at some point, but right now I’m kind of getting the best of them…I’m sure it’s in the back of their minds.  They’ll get me at some point.  I’m looking forward to it…Playing at home on the turf, the relays are a little better.  You kind of know where the ball is going.  Tony (Roth) made a great throw today.  It’s been a solid all-around effort on the relays.  It’s something we work on in practice and it’s paying off in the games.”

Akashian on Allen’s first start:  “I knew where he was coming from.  Everybody is nervous in their first professional start.  I mean, two weeks ago I was and I know he was today.  He’ll admit that, too, but he got the first three guys on then he settled right down.  I think that was big for him and it will be big for him in his next outing.  He settled down nicely.  I think he’s going to be around for a while…His best pitch was his slider, but he was a little up on his fastball.  As the game went on he got it to a lower level.” 

Score by inning     R  H  E
RVC 000 000 200 -  2   9  3
SIL   201 700 30X - 13 16 0

E - Raniere, C 2; Marshall, C. DP - Rascals 1; Miners 3. LOB - Rascals 7;
Miners 12. 2B - Barganier, L 2; Basom, W; Roth, T; Metropoulos. 3B -
Barganier, L. HBP - Wehrle, R; Sweet, A; Basom, W; Keene, W. SF - Stone, G.

River City
Clem……………..3.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 WP, 20 AB, 23 BF
Lee………………..2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1 HP, 11 AB, 13 BF
Castrignano……1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 6 AB, 8 BF
Logan……………1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 AB, 5 BF

SI Miners
Allen……………6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 HP, 20 AB, 23 BF
McMurran…….1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HP, 4 AB, 6 BF
Wilburn………..1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3 AB, 2 BF
Cannon………..1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HP, 3 AB, 4 BF

Win - Allen, C (1-0).  Loss - Clem, C (3-5).  Save - None.
WP - Clem, C. HBP - by Allen, C (Wehrle, R); by Lee, G (Keene, W); by McMurran,
J (Sweet, A); by Cannon, B (Basom, W).
Umpires - HP: Bruce Doane  1B: Joe Harris  3B: Dan O'Connell
Start: 7:10   Time: 2:42   Attendance: 4228

*Correction