April 9 Series: MINERS TAKE 3/4 FROM NCISP

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LOGAN FORSYTHE LEADS MINERS

Miner Manager Kevin Cash will have an enormous task in front of him during the 2020 campaign.  Joplin's front office understood the risk it was taking when it took on Gio Gonzalez's 10M contract for a half year of Hyun-jin Ryu.  The move allowed the Miners to save Chris Sale for the first round of the playoffs and ultimately led to the upset series win over the Los Altos Undertakers.  Unfortunately, Sale failed to do well in the OL championship and Joplin had to go home for the winter.

The Miners faced NCISP in the opening series of the 2020 season.

Game 1:  NCISP 5  Joplin 1
W:  Merrill Kelly 9-3-1-1-2-4
L: Chris Sale:  5-8-5-5-3-4

Chris Sale won the 2019 Cy Young award.  He did not pitch like it in Game 1.  Joey Votto singled and doubled and knocked in 2 runs, Adam Jones and Matt Chapman each hit solo shots.  As a result, Sale was knocked out after 5 innings and the Miners dropped to 0-1.

 

Game 2:  Joplin 5 NCISP  2
W: Tanner Roark: 6-4-0-0-2-3
L: Jeff Samardzija 7-6-5-5-0-6

Tanner Roark  could be the ace of the 2020 staff.  Shutting down NCISP over 6 innings is a great start.  Charlie Blackmon hit 2 home runs, one an inside the park job.  Carlos Santana contributed a 2 run shot.  Sean Newcomb allowed 3 runs in 1 inning of relief.  Hopefully, that is an aberration.  Nevertheless, getting the first win of the season is always encouraging.

Game 3:  Joplin 5 NCISP 3
W: Dan Duffy 6-2-1-1-1-5
L: Yusei Kikuchi 7-7-5-5-0-1

We all have those players who show us some untapped potential and we hold on to them in the hope they will realize it while we have them under contract. Dan Duffy is an example.  Holding any team to 1 run in 6 innings is encouraging, even though I know he can blow up at any minute and wind up in a funk with a DWI ticket from the KC police department to go with it.  Nevertheless, he was good in this game. The Miners used an array of different ways to score against North Carolina to secure the win.


Game 4:  Joplin 5  NCISP  2
W: Tom Milone  5-3-2-2-0-2
L: Dan Plesac:  6-9-4-4-0-4
S: John Brebbia

NCISP turned a triple play in the Joplin 5th but the Miners still came away with a 5-2 win.  Joplin used another multi-dimensional attack to win the game. Logan Forsythe homered and singled to support Milone.  Hopefully, Tom Milone will be able to keep up this level of performance.





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