Anthony Brocato Hits 100th Career FL Homer in Game 1 Loss
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 27) – After back-to-back lengthy days of baseball at EQT Park, the Wild Things returned to the diamond for another long day on the bill with a doubleheader on deck against the Joliet Slammers. After dropping the series opener, Washington fell behind even further in the series with an 8-7 defeat in the front end of the doubleheader.
Anthony Brocato tied Stephen Holdren, who played for four teams between 2006-11 in the Frontier League, for second in league history with his 100th career homer in the loss, which was his 42nd as a Wild Thing and 12th of the season.
In a spitting down rain, rookie Esteban Rodriguez made his first-ever start for Washington, who was added from free agency after a stint for the Trois-Rivières Aigles in May. The new addition was filling in for scheduled arm Maddox Long, who, along with fellow starter Zach Kirby, was removed from the roster with a pending contract acquisition, soon meaning that four of Washington’s six opening day rotation arms have had their contracts purchased so far this season.
The Slammers got to Rodriguez early, with four first-inning hits headlined by a three-run home run allowing Joliet to seize a 4-0 lead. Washington slashed that lead in half in the second frame, as a no-out, bases-loaded chance plated two scores courtesy of a single from third baseman Cole Fowler and a sac-fly from shortstop Kyle Edwards.
When the inning flipped over, a run-scoring error at shortstop following a pair of leadoff runners ended Rodriguez’s day, who over two innings allowed five hits for six runs, four earned, with a pair of strikeouts and walks.
Fellow new acquisition, who was announced today alongside Rodriguez, side-arm righty Shuto Tiger Okumura, picked up the jam for the first Frontier League appearance of his career, allowing only a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
The back-and-forth action resumed with a successful home half for Washington, where left fielder Anthony Brocato jacked the 100th home run of his career. Three straight hits followed, with Fowler launching a two-run single to knot the score at 6-6.
Okumura allowed three lead-off hits in the fourth and a wild pitch to score two, which soon ended his outing. Righty Jack Brodsky tossed consecutive punchouts to end the jam and continued on the mound with a scoreless fifth and sixth, only allowing a single.
Washington narrowed the gap in the home half of the fifth, as first baseman Andrew Czech launched a ball in the gap and scored a run on a dribbler hit by centerfielder Caleb Ketchup.
Righty Landon Ginn worked a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts from the mound for Washington, but the offense couldn’t pull level with two runners on base, as the Wild Things fell to 28-15 on the year.
The Joliet Slammers improved to 18-23 with six straight victories as a result, heading into Game 2. With four of its last five games decided by a run each, Washington resumes the back-half of the doubleheader with a start time of 8:30 p.m.
The Wild Things will be donning specialty Cancer Awareness jerseys in Game 2 that are up for auction on the DASH Fan Engagement app. The auction link is also available on the Wild Things’ social media platforms.
The 24th season of Wild Things baseball in the MLB-partnered Frontier League is underway with more great baseball and entertainment to come. For updates, other information and more, visit washingtonwildthings.com or follow the team on social media at facebook.com/WashingtonWildThings or @WashWildThings on other platforms.
Go Wild at washingtonwildthings.com.
