Knuckleballer pitches Ducks to sixth straight win
(Central Islip, N.Y., June 18, 2015) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters 2-0 on Thursday night in the finale of a three-game series at Bethpage Ballpark.
GAME AUDIO: Highlights from the shutout victory
POSTGAME VIDEO: Mickey Jannis, Randy Ruiz and Ryan Kussmaul talk about the win
Both sides traded zeroes until the fourth inning when Randy Ruiz launched a two-run home run to left-center field off of Skeeters starter Roy Merritt. Sugar Land threatened by putting the tying runs on in the seventh and ninth, but they could not dent home plate.
Ducks starter Mickey Jannis (5-2) was masterful to earn the win, tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out five. Merritt (2-1) suffered the hard luck loss, yielding two runs on five hits with three strikeouts in seven innings. Ryan Kussmaul earned his 16th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Ruiz led the Flock with two hits at the plate.
The Ducks continue their homestand on Friday night when they battle the cross-sound rival Bridgeport Bluefish in the opener of a four-game series. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Bethpage Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). The Ducks will be retiring the first jersey number in franchise history, as all-time great Justin Davies (#4) will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:00 to enjoy the festivities. In addition, the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a #4 Ducks T-Shirt, courtesy of Petro Home Services.
Tickets to the game and all Ducks home games are available by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE. Those unable to make the game can follow all of the action live on the Ducks’ flagship radio station, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Live streaming video and audio will also be available on the Ducks’ official YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.
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Duck Tales: With the win, Long Island has now won six consecutive games and 16 of their last 17 contests, all during the month of June. In addition, the Flock have won nine straight games at Bethpage Ballpark. The longest home winning streak in franchise history was 12 games, which was done July 5-20, 2006…Mickey Jannis continued his dominant pitching with seven more shutout innings. In his last 10 games (six starts), the knuckleballer has allowed just five earned runs over 52 innings of work, good for a 0.87 ERA. In that span, he has given up 30 hits and 15 walks while striking out 40 batters. In his last five starts, the righty is 3-0 with a 0.49 ERA, yielding two earned runs in 37 innings…Randy Ruiz’s two-run home run was his first of the season. The longball came in his eighth game since signing back with Long Island on June 9. The former big leaguer launched nine home runs in 45 games with the Flock during the 2014 season…Lew Ford has now earned hits in 11 consecutive games after picking up a single in the fourth inning. In those 11 games, the former big leaguer is batting .452 (20-for-45) with five doubles, eight RBI and 10 runs. Ford currently leads the Atlantic League in hits (68), RBI (44), total bases (104), doubles (19) and extra-base hits (25)…Mike Blanke earned a hit on Thursday and has now reached base safely in 13 consecutive games. During the streak, the catcher is batting .386 (17-for-44) with two homers, 11 RBI, nine runs and six walks. Since returning to the Ducks on May 23, Blanke has raised his batting average from .188 to .319…Amalio Diaz tossed another scoreless inning of relief in the eighth inning. The right-hander has now made 10 consecutive appearances without allowing a run. In addition, he has given up just one run in his last 20 outings. During those 20 games, Diaz has combined to pitch 20 innings, allowing just 11 hits and one walk while striking out 26 batters.
Game Date: 06/18/2015 Sugar Land Skeeters 0 AT Long Island Ducks 2 YTD YTD Sugar Land AB R H BI AVG L Island AB R H BI AVG W.Taveras DH 4 0 2 0 .275 D.Cleary Jr. LF 4 0 0 0 .319 D.Young 2B 4 0 1 0 .236 R.Corona 2B 4 0 0 0 .291 J.Limonta RF 3 0 1 0 .167 L.Ford CF 3 1 1 0 .340 D.Martin LF 3 0 1 0 .269 R.Ruiz DH 3 1 2 2 .333 T.Scott 1B 2 0 0 0 .220 J.Griffin 1B 3 0 0 0 .269 K.Russo 3B 4 0 0 0 .255 C.Puckett 3B 3 0 0 0 .298 C.Wallace C 3 0 0 0 .257 P.Redman RF 3 0 0 0 .207 D.Almonte CF 3 0 0 0 .193 M.Blanke C 3 0 1 0 .319 A.Zazueta SS 3 0 1 0 .264 D.Lyons SS 2 0 1 0 .300 29 0 6 0 28 2 5 2 Sugar Land 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 1 L Island 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 x - 2 5 0 HR--R.Ruiz (1). RBI--R.Ruiz 2 (8). SB--A.Zazueta (2), D.Lyons (9). CS--W.Taveras (1). E--R.Merritt (1). LOB--Sugar Land 6, L Island 3. DP--R. Corona(2B) - J. Griffin(1B), D. Young(2B) - K. Russo(3B) - T. Scott(1B), M. Jannis(P) - C. Puckett(3B) - J. Griffin(1B) - M. Blanke(C), R. Corona(2B) - D. Lyons(SS) - J. Griffin(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sugar Land R.Merritt (L,2-1) 7.0 5 2 2 0 3 1 0.86 H.Cervenka 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 8 5 2 2 1 3 1 L Island M.Jannis (W,5-2) 7.0 3 0 0 3 5 0 1.32 A.Diaz 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.33 R.Kussmaul (S,16) 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 2.03 9 6 0 0 4 7 0 WP--R.Merritt (2), H.Cervenka (1), M.Jannis (4). SO--W.Taveras, D.Young, D.Martin 2, C.Wallace 2, D.Almonte, D.Cleary Jr., L.Ford, M.Blanke. BB--J.Limonta, D.Martin, T.Scott 2, D.Lyons. BF--R.Merritt 25 (74), H.Cervenka 4 (7), M.Jannis 24 (263), A.Diaz 4 (102), R.Kussmaul 5 (110). P-S--R.Merritt 91-62, H.Cervenka 15-8, M.Jannis 94-55, A.Diaz 18-12, R.Kussmaul 13-5. T--2:16. A--4826 Plate Umpire - Frank Leparik, Field Umpire #1 - Manolo Alejandro, Field Umpire #2 - Dave Speranza