Kilome Dominates; Claws Take 1-0 Series Lead
ROME, GA - Behind a sensational Franklyn Kilome, who threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, the BlueClaws blanked Rome 5-0 to take game one of the South Atlantic League Championship Series Monday night at State Mutual Stadium.
Game two of the best-of-five series is on Tuesday night and the BlueClaws moved within two wins of their fourth South Atlantic League championship.
Kilome retired the first 12 hitters that he faced and ended up finishing the seventh inning for the fourth time this year. The 21-year old struck out 80 hitters over his last 11 starts of the year, covering 59.2 innings.
The win for the BlueClaws, going back to the regular season, is their 27th in 33 games, 20th in 23 games, and eighth in a row.
The BlueClaws got on the board in the third inning. Jose Pujols reached on an error with two outs and scored on a Damek Tomscha RBI double to give the BlueClaws a 1-0 lead.
Neither team scored until the seventh, when the BlueClaws added three runs with the help of two Rome errors. Emmanuel Marrero reached on an error before a Mark Laird RBI single for a 2-0 lead. Then two batters later, Pujols reached on an error which allowed two runners to score and give the BlueClaws a 4-0 lead.
Rome starter Mike Soroka (1-1) gave up four runs in seven innings, though all four runs were unearned. He struck out six without allowing a walk.
Wilson Garcia homered in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Grant Dyer retired all six hitters he faced to close out the game and has thrown five scoreless innings in the post-season.
Game two of the SAL Championship Series takes place Tuesday night at State Mutual Stadium. RHP Seranthony Dominguez (5-2) starts for Lakewood opposite Rome RHP Touki Toussaint (4-8) with a 7:00 first pitch.
The BlueClaws will host games three, four, and five (with games four and five "if necessary") beginning on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Park. Tickets are available by calling 732-901-7000 option 2 or online at BlueClaws.com.
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