Costly Errors Starve Dodos!

Dodos Baseball would have had their first victory of the season on Sunday, if it weren't for eight (that's right, 8) fielding errors. Shaun Stephans started the game with an impressive strikeout looking, only to be taken for a solo home run ride by the second batter for the Tribe. The Dodos escaped their usual first inning drama by surrendering just one run.

In the second inning, after an error on the Tribe shortstop by a hard hit ground ball by Charles Dethloff, the Dodos pieced together a three-run inning led by Troy Warn, Sr.'s RBI single. Andy Gerber hit an RBI single after a walk to Rick Jarakian and then Shane Shoemaker hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score the third run of the inning. Not to be undone, the Tribe scored three runs of their own to retake a 4-3 lead after two complete innings.

The Dodos seemingly always find a way to let teams put them in the hole early, and the third inning was evident of that. An error by second baseman Shoemaker started the inning, followed by a walk, then an error by Dethloff at third, then another error by Dethloff two batters later. But the bleeding would not be stopped there, as first baseman Jason Butter dropped a ball and an error by center fielder Matt Lane allowed two more unearned runs to cross home plate as the Tribe extended the lead to 8-3, capping a five error filled inning.

The Dodos would score one run in the top of the fourth, but two more Dodos' errors in the bottom half of the inning proved to be costly, as the Tribe scored six more runs to up the lead to 14-4.

Dethloff looked to redeem himself in the fifth however, with a runner on first and two outs, he smashed a double in the gap, scoring Butter all the way from first base (prompting several jokes from the Dodos' dugout). The Dodos would score three that inning and cut the lead to 14-7.

Stephans looked his best of the season Sunday, walking five, hitting three and striking out three, while giving up 14 runs (6 ER) in 5 1/3 innings of work. He was relieved in the sixth, after hitting this third batter of the game. Shoemaker came in and faced nine batters, striking out five, walking none and only giving up one hit in 2 2/3 innings. Shoemaker also went 2-3 with 4 RBI, including a mammoth 2-run homer in the sixth.

The Dodos would put together another two-run inning in the seventh, but that's all they could do, wasting a leadoff walk to start the ninth inning with a double play. Butter would get hit in the next at-bat, but Dethloff was called out on strikes on a rather controversial strike three call to end the game and the Dodos' rally.

Fantasy performances of the day: Burke 1-5; Lane 0-2 (3BB, R, SB); Stephans 1-5; Butter 1-2 (2R, RBI, 2HB, SB); Dethloff 1-3 (2R, 2BB, RBI, 2B); Warn, Sr. 1-2 (2RBI, SF); Jarakian 1-3 (2RBI); A. Gerber 2-3 (RBI, 2B, SB); Hernandez 1-4; Shoemaker 2-3 (4RBI, 2R-HR, SF); K. Gerber 0-2 (2BB). Almost forgot, Nick Chiodo was picked off while pinch-running for Jarakian in the 7th.