Washington Shutout in Middle Game of Three-Game Set in Joliet
JOLIET, Ill. - After winning last night in the series opener in Joliet, the Washington Wild Things (40-36) fell in the middle game of three against the Joliet Slammers (34-41), by a final of 4-0.
Ethan Gibbons started for the Wild Things and was tagged for the loss, his second straight, in his shortest outing with the team Saturday night. The right-hander threw 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks. Gibbons struck out three.
For Washington, left-handed Frank Trimarco, who signed with the team yesterday, made his debut, going 3.2 innings of one-hit ball in relief of Gibbons. He allowed an unearned run but escaped two jams and struck out four in the outing.
Despite the solid relief, Washington’s bats never woke up to plate a run, as Joliet pitching managed to shutout the Wild Things. Three pitchers did the work, even with the starter Luis Cruz leaving the game after 2.1 innings with injury. Tyler House and Skylar Janisse finished the shutout.
Joliet scored three in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run, book-rule double by Luis Diaz. Melvin Rodriguez drove in the third run that chased Gibbons from the game. The Slammers loaded the bases in the next frame with no outs against Trimarco, but only managed one run on a wild pitch.
For Washington, the team managed just seven hits, four of which came from the combined two-hit efforts of right fielder Hector Roa and left fielder James Harris.
At the time of the loss, River City and Evansville were both losing. If those scores held up, Washington, despite the loss, will be one game back of the second Wild Card spot. Updates on those games can be found at frontierleague.com and on Wild Things social media outlets.
The two teams will now shift their focus to the rubber match of the three-game set, which will be played tomorrow afternoon in Joliet at 2:05 p.m.
