S.I. Yankees: Pizza Rats Win Seventh in a Row

From the desk of:  THE RICHMOND COUNTY RATS NINE

Slide Past Brooklyn Cyclones Into Second Place.

Staten Island Yankees: Richmond County Rats Gnawing Through Competition.

Don't look now, but the Pizza Rats are winners of seven in a row, and nine of their last ten games.  They've not only found their way out of the McNamara Division cellar, but have gnawed their way into second place just 1.5 games behind the first place Hudson Valley Renegades.

On Monday, they completed a three-game sweep over the West Virginia Black Bears at the Ballpark at St. George.  Yankees reliever Drew Finley finished what Roansy Contreras started.  Contreras faced 23 batters through seven full innings of work, throwing an economic 86 pitches with 57 (66%) going for strikes.  He allowed one unearned run on just three hits and a walk, while fanning eight.  For all his efforts, though, he walked off to a participatory no-decision.  Drew Finley was easily the luckier of the two, earning his second victory of the season despite surrendering two earned runs over the final two frames.

Finley's mates came to his rescue with a five run outburst in the eighth inning.  After trading runs in the fourth, the Bears and Baby Bombers remained tied through seven.  Leading off the home eighth, Staten Island third baseman Andres Chaparo greeted incoming reliever Conner Leoprich with a home run to left.  Three doubles, a base hit, a walk, a passed ball , one one wild pitch later, and the Yankees owned a 6-1 lead, an route to a 6-3 final.  Second baseman Jesus Bastidas went 2 for 4, with a double, runs scored, and two RBI.

The Rats now take their show on the road where they haven't fared very well.  They'll be looking to improve upon their 5-7 record away from the pizza shop starting with a series against the Lake Monsters up in Burlington, Vermont.