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Improbable as it sounds, it was the stat line for one of seven pitchers used in the untidy game that tells a big part of the story of Lake County's 14-9 victory over Delmarva.
On a night when every other hurler took his lumps, Captains starter Paolo Espino was rock solid. The 20-year-old native of Panama by way of Bradenton, Fla., yielded two runs on three hits in six innings. He had nine strikeouts and issued no walks.
It was a typically solid outing for Espino, a 5-foot-10,
190-pound right-hander who opened the season as a back-end reliever. The Indians' 10th-round choice in the 2006 June draft moved into the starting rotation in late June and has been there since.
With Saturday night's victory, Espino improved to 4-4 with a 3.76 ERA. In 32 appearances (12 starts) covering 1021/3 innings, he's recorded 109 strikeouts and given up only 29 walks. Opponents are batting .235 against him.
Espino and 19-year-old fellow starters Jeanmar Gomez (11-7, 5.21 ERA) and Hector Rondon (7-10, 4.61 ERA) have pitched better than their numbers would indicate. They take the ball every fifth day and, more often than not, walk off the mound after six or seven innings having given the Captains a chance to win a ballgame.
In Saturday night's game, for example, Espino held his own while his teammates pounded out a 10-2 lead. He gave the Captains the leeway they needed to give six runs in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the ninth and still cruise to their third straight victory.
"These three guys have done a tremendous job for us all season," Manager Chris Tremie said of his young guns. "They've worked hard to improve from Day 1, and they're still getting better."
Every Captains batter had at least one hit as four Delmarva pitchers got taken to the woodshed. Center fielder Roman Pena went 2-for-6 and drove in five runs. Cleanup batter Nick Weglarz had a 4-for-6 night with two RBI. Right fielder Cirilo Cumberbatch, one of the season's pleasant surprises, had three hits and two RBI while raising his average to .297.
