Miner showcase

ANCHORAGE — The Mat-Su Miners are taking the season one series at a time. And with a 5-3 win over the Peninsula Oilers during the first day of the ABL/Major League Baseball Showcase at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage, the Miners were able to clinch another season-series.

“We want to take the season series from everyone,” Mat-Su head coach Conor Bird said after Mat-Su’s fourth win against the Oilers this summer. “Finish at least 4-3 against everyone, and that puts you right where you want to be.”

The Miners, who have also already won the season-series against the Fairbanks-based Athletes in Action, moved into a temporary tie with Peninsula at 12-11 in the ABL standings with the win. Following Mat-Su’s victory, four of the ABL’s six teams stood separated by less than two games in the standings with less than two weeks of the regular season to go.

“Everyone is in a big clump around .500,” Mat-Su outfielder Jordin Hood said. “We’ve got to keep winning games.”

The Mat-Su offense collected three early runs and starter Garrett Richards dazzled Major League scouts with a fastball that hovered around the 95 mph mark in the win.

Second baseman John Shaffer singled to drive in a pair of runs and Hood bounced a run-scoring double off the left field wall to give the Miners the 3-0 lead in the second.

“We had some good at-bats early,” Bird said. “We showed some patience.”

Catcher Tyson Jaquez and third baseman Blake Newalu also scored in the inning. Jaquez led off the inning with a walk, and Newalu followed with a bunt single.

Hood was one of three Miners to knock a ball off the left field wall. Shortstop Kevin Rodland and center fielder Kyle Jensen each did it in consecutive at-bats in the fourth inning to help give the Miners the 5-1 lead.

“We were finding the gap and hitting the wall,” Hood said.

Rodland doubled and scored on Jensen’s two-bagger to start the scoring in the inning, and Jensen was pushed home by a Troy Scott RBI-single.

Although he felt a bit guilty for admitting it, Hood said it’s a nice change of pace to hit at Mulcahy, a stadium that is drastically different from the Miners’ home, Hermon Brothers, a field that is traditionally known as a pitcher’s park.

“It’s a tough field to hit at,” Hood said of Hermon Brothers. “(Here) you see the ball well, the ball carries well.”

Despite a 2-3 record at Mulcahy this year, the Miners are averaging nearly nine hits per game at the Anchorage park, a shade higher than their season average of seven hits per game.

The Mat-Su bats chased Peninsula starter Chia-Hang Li off the mound before the lefty could compete two innings of work.

Li allowed two hits and walked four in 1 2/3 innings.

While Li struggled, Richards enjoyed his best outing of the season. The University of Oklahoma flame-thrower fanned three in the win, and has his fastball working steadily in the 92 to 95 mph range.

He walked three and gave up five hits, but allowed only one earned run in the win.

“Garrett Richards can be one of the top guys in the league when he’s on,” Bird said. “If he gets better command of his fastball, he could be a guy you’ll see pitching in the big leagues.”

Reliever Charles Ruiz pitched three innings to earn the save.

The win was the first of three games the Miners will play during the three-day ABL/MLB Showcase, a event created to lure Major League scouts to Alaska.

More than a dozen scouts were in the Mulcahy stands to see the Miners win.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.