July 23: Goldeyes Bullpen Terrific As Fish Shade T-Bones 5-4

It would be pretty hard to find a guy more modest than Goldeyes reliever Jordan Stewart.

After the Fish beat Kansas City 5-4 on Wednesday night at Canwest Park, Stewart didn’t want to take the credit, he wanted to praise the hitters. After all, a three-run homer by Cody Ehlers and a two-run bomb off the bat of Kevin West – his fourth homer in two games – was the difference on the scoreboard.

“It was great to get the save, but even better to get the win,” said Stewart. “We’ve been getting lots of hitting. It was nice to pick those guys up.”

After the Goldeyes bullpen blew up on Tuesday night and allowed eight runs in the eighth and ninth, the relievers were perfect on Wednesday night as Derek Feldkamp pitched two scoreless innings and Stewart, in his first official save situation as the team’s new closer, allowed only an infield hit in a scoreless ninth.

The pen not only “picked up” the hitters, but also got starter Mark Michael his first win of the season. Michael went six innings, giving up four runs (only three earned) and eight hits and left the game with the Fish ahead 5-4. That lead held up as Feldkamp and Stewart were almost perfect.

For manager Rick Forney, it was as much a relief as it was a thrill to watch his pitchers perform well under pressure. More than a dozen times this season, Forney’s bullpen has collapsed with the Goldeyes ahead.

“On Tuesday night, it was a pretty helpless feeling sitting in the dugout watching things unfold the way they did,” Forney told Goldeyes radio guy Paul Edmonds following the game. “It was great to see the guys come on and get the job done.”

With the win, the Goldeyes have won two straight, locked up the three-game series with Kansas City and improved to 33-23 on the season. However, with a double-header sweep of Schaumburg yesterday, the Gary SouthShore RailCats have taken over first place in the Northern League and now lead the Goldeyes by a half game.

“It’s going to be a tough race heading down the stretch,” said Stewart. “We have some great hitters on this team. It’s good to get the job done and get an important win for the team.”

The final game of this series goes tonight at 6:00 (notice the time change) at Canwest Park. First-place Gary comes to town Friday.