Desert Dogs fetch fourth straight title
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The characters change, but the story remains the same. It goes like this: New players join the six Arizona Fall League teams every season. They play 32 regular-season games, and it ends with the Phoenix Desert Dogs winning the championship game.
For the fourth year in a row, the Desert Dogs won the AFL title, pulling away in the later innings to beat the Surprise Rafters, 7-2, on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,433 at Scottsdale Stadium.
"This is becoming old hat here," league executive director Steve Cobb said.
No players or coaches were a part of any of the previous Phoenix titles, but they received a reminder of the legacy they were seeking to become a part of when they were sized for championship rings in the clubhouse before the game.
Coming into the contest it looked like the proverbial battle between pitching and hitting.
The Desert Dogs hurlers had posted a league-record 2.68 ERA, while Surprise mashed 39 homers to lead the league in that department.
As it turned out, Phoenix wound up having both the pitching and the offense and rapped out 15 hits.
Starter Nick Blackburn (Twins) illustrated why the Desert Dogs hurlers were so tough this season. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk, fanning two, in six innings of work.
It was even more impressive considering Blackburn hadn't pitched in such a situation before.
"I had never played in any kind of playoff game, so it was kind of exciting," Blackburn said. "I just realized I had to go out and do the same things I had been doing."
The fact that it was a game for a championship didn't necessarily hit him right away. It kicked in after teammate Nyjer Morgan (Pirates), hit a double to lead off the game and was thrown out trying for third.
"The crowd got really wound up," Blackburn said. "It kind of got the blood rushing. I had to calm myself down."
"He set a real good tone," added Phoenix pitching coach Gary Lucas (Twins). "He pitched inside early, used both sides of the plate and kept the ball down in the zone. His change-up and curveball really came around down here, and he used them very well."
The only blemish on Blackburn's line was a third-inning homer by Sean Rodriguez (Angels) that tied the game at one.
"It was a curveball," Blackburn said. "I had just told my catcher [Drew Butera, Twins] the inning before that after a good pitch to start off a hitter I kind of like to double it up, but I did there and it got punished."
The Desert Dogs were the ones doing the punishing in the later frames, and the Rafters also punished themselves with some defensive miscues.
Craig Tatum (Reds) hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to knot the game at 2. It came at the expense of Chris Hernandez (Pirates), who had pitched 13 scoreless innings in the league this year.
Phoenix took the lead right back with two in the eighth with help from a throwing error by shortstop Elvis Andrus (Rangers) -- one of three Rafters errors in the game -- a passed ball by Tatum and a wild pitch by Mike Finocchi (Indians), and then three more in the ninth with the help of a fielding error by shortstop Marc Maddox (Royals) and another Tatum passed ball.
Frustration boiled over when Surprise hitting coach Jon Nunnally and pitching coach Steve Luebber were ejected after Andrus struck out looking in the bottom of the ninth.
Three batters later, Phoenix closer Bob McCrory (Orioles) struck out Chris Lubanski (Royals) swinging to set off an exuberant celebration on the mound.
"I congratulate my team. They did a great job," said Phoenix manager Rafael Santana (White Sox) to the crowd right before he was doused with the water bucket.
"I have the [game-ending] ball, and the Hall of Fame can't have it," joked McCrory as he tucked the winning sphere into his glove and headed for the bus.
The clubhouse emptied quickly as the players caught their buses back to their respective stadiums to finally begin their offseason after 10 months of baseball.
As the Phoenix players exited, the sounds of barking dogs echoed down the hallway, a sound signifying that these players indeed added their names to the run of Desert Dogs championships at the Arizona Fall League.
news 11/19
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