photo: Thomas Saggese (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Glendale Desert Dogs lost a wild 13-11 contest at Salt River on Monday. Four Cardinals played. Thomas Saggese doubled and walked, Nathan Church singled and scored and Ixan Henderson and Alex Cornwell pitched in relief. Manager Ben Johnson was ejected.
Results from the Arizona Fall League game played on Monday, November 4.
Glendale Desert Dogs 11 at Salt River Rafters 13
The Glendale Desert Dogs (12-10) fell to the Salt River Rafters (13-10) in a wild 13-11 slugfest on Monday at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Four Cardinals participated in the loss.
Thomas Saggese started at second base, Nathan Church entered as a defensive replacement in right field, and Alex Cornwell and Ixan Henderson pitched in relief.
In five plate appearances, Saggese doubled and walked. The number three batter flied out in the first to the right fielder. In the third, he doubled and tried to steal third base. Saggese was successful as the third baseman bobbled the throw for an error (see lead photo). He did not score, however. With the bases loaded, the Dogs batter hit a weak chopper in front of home plate. With nowhere to go, Saggese was tagged out by the third baseman.
Saggese grounded out to the shortstop in the fourth, walked in the sixth but was stranded, and grounded out in the eighth.
Nathan Church entered the game in the sixth, going 1-for-2 with a run scored. He singled in the seventh and came home on an RBI single but flied out in the ninth to the center fielder.
Struggling with his control and perhaps a tight strike zone, Ixan Henderson took his first AFL loss plus a blown save. He allowed four runs on a hit while walking four and striking out one in 2/3 of an inning pitched.
The lefty entered the game in the fourth, walking the first batter and then giving up a double to put two runners in scoring position. The left-hander threw a wild pitch that let one run score, forced a groundout to the third baseman, walked the next three batters to force in a run, and struck out the final batter he faced.
At that point, Henderson had already thrown 37 pitches in the inning (with just 15 strikes), leading to Glendale manager Ben Johnson pulling him with two outs.
Frustration may have boiled over for Johnson. Just moments later, in the top of the fifth with the Dogs down 9-6, Otto Kemp of the Phillies hit what appeared to be a home run down the left field line. The tally went on the board, but the Rafters protested. After a meeting among all four umpires, the call was reversed.
Johnson was incensed, with his booming protest audible all over the stadium. Soon, he was ejected. But the game was delayed because at Salt River, the clubhouses are only accessible from a gate in center field. Johnson had to take the long walk alone, sort of the reverse path of a reliever coming in from the bullpen.
Alex Cornwell threw 2 2/3 innings, yielding one run on two hits while walking and striking out two. 18 of his 38 pitches went for strikes.
The lefty inherited the bases loaded in the fifth with one out and did a nice job escaping the jam. The first batter hit a comebacker, allowing Cornwell to turn a 2-1-3 double play. In the sixth, he retired the side with a strikeout, groundout, and lineout. He walked the first two batters in the seventh and forced the next hitter to ground into a double play before giving up an RBI single. Cornwell ended the inning by striking out the batter.
The Desert Dogs’ Sunday game that was suspended in the first inning due to rain will be made up on Tuesday as part of a doubleheader.
Tuesday’s games: at Scottsdale Scorpions (9-13), RHP Eriq Swan (0-0, 5.19) vs. Khristian Curtis RHP (1-1, 6.97) 5:30 CT (Game One), vs. Scottsdale Scorpions, RHP Andrew Painter (1-0, 2.70) vs. Kendry Rojas LHP (0-1, 8.10) 7:30 CT (Game Two).
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