MOBILE, Ala. – Hector Ambriz fanned eight batters over seven shutout innings while surrendering only two hits in the BayBears’ 2-0 victory over the Carolina Mudcats at Hank Aaron Stadium.
After giving up a lead-off single to Sean Henry, Ambriz (1-1) was nearly unhittable.
He recorded 10 straight outs at one point which included a string of four straight strikeouts. The only trouble that Ambriz faced came in the fifth, when a lead-off walk and a sac bunt put Shaun Cumberland in scoring position, but consecutive flyouts to center ended the threat.
Offensively, the BayBears (5-2) did little with lefty Travis Wood (0-1), who scattered four hits until allowing a two-out double to Ricardo Sosa in the bottom of the sixth. After a base on balls to Chris Rahl, Wood was pulled from the contest in favor of right-hander Ruben Medina, who promptly coughed up a two-run double to Cyle Hankerd, putting the BayBears on top.
The BayBears offered one more opportunity to score in the bottom of the eighth, as Pedro Ciriaco tripled to start the frame but
got stranded at third. Scott Maine (S, 1) replaced Ambriz in the top of the eighth and retired the first two batters he faced, including Chris Kroski, who was called out on strikes. Kroski, upset with the call, was quickly ejected by home plate umpire Takeshi Hirabayashi and proceeded to aggressively argue before finally walking away.
Maine allowed a lead-off single to Henry in the ninth, but retired the game’s final three batters to preserve the win and the team’s second shutout of the season.
- Ricardo Sosa has been on fire. He went 2-for-3 in the game and is
now batting .407 with a league-best eight runs batted in
- Ambriz sees his ERA drop to 1.54 after the win. He is second in
the league with 14 punchouts
- Maine has not walked a batter nor allowed a run in five innings this
season
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