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2008 Midnight Sun Game Early Entry Pass
Baseball at midnight? Only in Alaska
(Miami Herald) - It was weird,' said Brad Arnsberg, a former Marlins
pitching coach, of the Midnight Sun experience. You had to have foil on your
bedroom windows just to keep the light from jumping in when you were trying to
sleep. I remember, unfortunately, walking out of a couple of bars at three or
four in the morning and it was broad daylight. It was kind of an odd feeling.'
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| Panners solve All-Star puzzle
But every now and then the All-Stars throw the Panners a curve. Friday that curve, along with a well-placed fastball, belonged to All-Stars starting pitcher Jeremy Johnson, who stifled the Panners until the fifth inning when they broke through for five runs en route to an 8-1 victory in the scheduled seven-inning contest. "He was pretty good," said Panner designated hitter and relief pitcher Chad Redfern, who picked up a pair of RBI singles in the last two innings. "We definitely didn't expect pitching of that type in this game. He had us off-balance for awhile." The first batter to face Johnson, Panners second baseman Ryan Haag, laced a first-pitch single to right field. Haag moved to second on an infield single by Tim Montgomery and eventually came in to score on an RBI ground out by Mike Hoffius. "I figured that was coming," Johnson said of Haag's lead-off single. "Usually the first pitch they are waiting for a fastball. I threw a first-pitch fastball and he was waiting for it. I calmed down after that and started throwing my game. I had pretty good location." After Montgomery's infield hit, Johnson became an artist, painting the corners of the plate, getting ahead in the count and catching several Panners watching third strikes. He retired 10 batters in a row, striking out four of five batters he faced in one stretch, before Scott Robinson singled with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. The Panners clung to a 1-0 lead after 4 1/2 innings of play thanks largely to some defensive gems, including a great stop and long throw for an out by shortstop Grant Rogers in the second inning, a tough play by third baseman Marc Kaiser for the first out of the third inning and a great diving catch by left fielder Tony Perez for the final out of the fourth inning, saving at least one run. "I thought we had a good chance at that point," said Johnson, who recently arrived in Fairbanks from Oklahoma. "I thought we could get them." Thoughts of an All-Star upset ended in the bottom of the fifth, however, when catcher John Voita stroked a one-out double that keyed a five-run rally. Redfern singled to left and Voita slid in safely with the Panners' second run of the game. Haag followed with a single, Perez walked, Montgomery reached on an error that scored two runs and Hoffius had an RBI infield single. "We've got some good bats in the lineup," Voita said. "It took us a little bit to get going, but once we woke up we were all right. (Johnson) did a good job today. I think our first time through the lineup we were just a little impatient at the plate, but once we settled down and focused like it was a normal game we did OK." The Panners added two more runs in the sixth inning off All-Stars relief pitcher Brian Williams. In the top of the seventh the All-Stars got on the board as Danny West, a late addition to the lineup, singled and eventually came in to score on a two-out single by Aaron Ernst. The run was scored off Redfern, who came in to pitch the seventh inning. "I haven't pitched in a game since I was about 10 years old," said Redfern, who normally roams the outfield for the Panners. "I had a couple of big league scouts that were interested in me throwing so I was hoping to use this summer to maybe develop my pitching. I was around the zone, I didn't have any balls hit the backstop, so I was pretty happy." Zak Basch, who pitched exclusively in relief for the Panners last year, threw the first two innings, striking out four, walking one and not allowing a hit. Chris Zachgo of Delta Junction pitched the next three innings for the Panners, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out five, walking none and picking up the win. "I was on the team two years ago and he pitched some for us then," Redfern said. "He did a real nice job for us, didn't give up any runs. He looked good." The Panners open a four-game series against the Oceanside, Calif., Waves at 7 tonight Staff writer Richard Larson can be reached at rlarson@newsminer.com or at 459-7583. June 15, 2002, Daily News-Miner |
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