By: Alex Morales
El Paso, TX – The Diablos did not receive a solid outing from starting pitcher Reymond Cruz as he left after the score was 7-2, but El Paso scored 12 unanswered runs off of Fort Worth pitchers to claim their fifth straight win as they won 14-7 Friday night at Cohen Stadium.
El Paso (25-52) got off to a rough start as Cruz had trouble locating his pitches in the strike zone as he gave up two early runs in the first inning as the Cats held a 2-0 lead after an inning of play.
Cruz surrendered a total of five runs all earned off of seven hits during his outing which lasted only three and third. It looked as though he was going to receive the loss as the Diablos trailed 5-2 when Cruz departed.
Fort Worth (33-43) and starting pitcher Phillip Bartleski looked to have the game in hand, but then the sixth inning rolled around and that is when the Diablos offense came to life.
The Diablos scored nine runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning which was highlighted by eight hits by El Paso. The go ahead hit came at the hands of Nelson Teilon who delivered a two-run RBI single off of reliever Scott Vander Weg to put the Diablos up 9-8. El Paso scored two more in the frame when catcher Alberto Espinosa doubled to bring home two to make the score 11-9 at the end of the sixth.
El Paso received help from its bullpen as reliever Adam Rowe came in for Cruz and allowed only two runs all earned on three hits in three and two-thirds innings of work. Rowe (2-6) walked two batters and picked up the win in the game.
The Diablos relieved Rowe of his duties and brought in pitcher Colin Allen who pitched two scoreless innings to seal the 14-7 victory for El Paso.
Every batter in the Diablos lineup had at least one hit except for shortstop Maikol Gonzalez who was hitless on the night. Six of the nine batters had at least two hits in the game as the Diablos scored 14 runs on 16 hits.
Tomorrow is game two of a three-game series between the two teams. With a win the Diablos will win their second straight series in a row. It will be the first time all year that the team has won back-to-back series on the season. Game time is set for 7:05 pm at Cohen Stadium.