Cats' Boone retires final 25 batters
Boone overcame an early hiccup and retired the final 25 batters he faced Friday for his first complete game in more than two years as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beat the New Britain Rock Cats, 7-1.
The right-hander, who turned 26 on Aug. 6, gave up a one-out double to Evan Bigley in the opening inning and an RBI triple to Juan Portes. But they turned out to be the only baserunners against Boone (4-8), who ended a personal six-game losing streak earlier this month.
"I got dialed in and executed the game plan," he told the (Manchester) Union Leader. "It's a rare occasion, definitely. If you keep your pitch count down and execute down in the zone, you never know what can happen. It's definitely a special night for me and one that I'll remember."
Boone escaped further trouble in the first by getting Steve Singleton to ground out. He ended up striking out six en route to his second career complete game and first since pitching a seven-inning shutout for Class A Lansing on May 16, 2008.
"Probably the best game of the season other than (Kyle) Drabek's no-hitter," Fisher Cats manager Luis Rivera told the newspaper.
New Britain's lead did not last long. New Hampshire responded with four runs in the bottom of the first as Callix Crabbe delivered an RBI single, Adam Calderone lifted a sacrifice fly and David Cooper launched a two-run homer, his 18th.
Eric Thames led off the seventh with his 23rd longball, helping the Fisher Cats remain 3 1/2 games behind first-place Trenton in the Eastern League's Eastern Division.