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It was another quiet offensive day for Mesa on Thursday as the Solar Sox lost to the Javelinas 7 to 3. Leadoff man Matt Szczur (Cubs) had the most notable day at the dish as he went 3 for 5 with a homer and 2 RBI's, but he only scored one run because the man batting behind him was Rafael Ynoa who went 0 for 5.
Griff Erickson was the DH in this contest and he reached base twice with a pair of singles, but he struck out in his other two at bats. Noticeably missing from the lineup for the 8th straight game was Joc Pederson, and while I do not have any additional information on his absence we can only hope that he's simply nursing a minor injury.
On the mound for Mesa things were going very well until Red Patterson took over in the 4th. While he managed to get out of that inning unscathed after a runner was thrown out at the plate, he wasn't so lucky in the 5th as he gave up 4 hits and uncorked a wild pitch which led to 2 runs. In total he allowed 6 hits and was charged with a blown save. Fellow reliever Clay Schrader (Orioles) also struggled as he permitted 4 more runs to score in the 6th which really put the game out of reach for Mesa.
Thursday Mesa Solar Sox Box Score
Coming up: Mike Wright (Orioles) will throw for Mesa tomorrow as the Solar Sox take on Kyle Simon (Phillies) and the Peoria Javelinas for the second day in a row. Also, I know we've beaten it to death already, but 2012 3rd round pick Onelki Garcia has yet to make an appearance in the AFL and there are only 11 games left in the season.