LAKEWOOD, N.J. –Chance Chapman outdueled first rounder Madison Bumgarner on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Park in to help the BlueClaws to a 3-2 victory in a battle of staff aces.
Chapman nearly went the distance, allowing just two earned runs on six hits over 8 2/3 innings. He also struck out seven hitters and walked just two. It was the longest performance for Chapman (6-5), who put together an eight-inning complete game in a loss at Lexington on April 27.
The 24-year old right-hander overcame some early control issues in the first inning, allowing just one fourth-inning run. He gave up just three hits in the final five innings and at one stretch got 11 outs in a row.
Chapman departed with two outs in the ninth inning after giving up back-to-back hits to Angel Villalona and Thomas Neal. Jared Simon gave up a hit to Andrew Davis to bring a run across, but struck out Nestor Rojas to end the game and earn his 17th save of the season.
The win closed out a series win over the first place GreenJackets. Three of the four games were decided by one run, while the other was a two-run contest.
Chapman’s outing overshadowed his highly touted counterpart. Bumgarner, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2007 Draft, had not lost a game since April 18 before taking the loss on Thursday. The 18-year old southpaw gave up all three Lakewood runs in seven innings. Lakewood roughed Bumgarner (8-3) up for a season-high nine hits.
The BlueClaws registered single runs in three separate innings against Bumgarner. Tim Kennelly stayed on top of his game with another RBI, driving in the first run of the game for Lakewood. Kennelly know has 10 RBIs in just 11 games for the BlueClaws. The catcher reached base in three of his four trips to the plate, going 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch.
The BlueClaws tacked on runs in the fifth and the sixth, thanks to RBI hits from T.J. Warren and Dennis Winn. Warren drove in a pair of runs on Wednesday afternoon to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, giving him three critical RBIs in the series.
Lakewood (13-8, 51-40) has now won three straight games and 10 of their last 12. As of the final out they moved within two games of first-place West Virginia.
The BlueClaws next welcome the Greenville Drive, the Class A affiliate for the Boston Red Sox, for the first and only time in 2008 starting on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park with Vance Worely (0-0) making his second start of the season for the BlueClaws and Terumasa Matsuo (3-3) going for the Drive.
There will be post-game fireworks presented by Toyota and Scion World of Lakewood.
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