Strasburg, bullpen lead Hopatcong to Game 1 victory

Hopatcong followed its typical formula on Friday night. The Fish got 6 strong innings from Stephen Strasburg and three relievers combined to allow one hit over the final three innings., followed by scoreless three innings from its bullpen for a 6-3 win over Tucson in Game 1 of the best-of-seven DMBL Series.

The highest-scoring offense in the regular season took advantage of a spotty start by Tucson left-hander Robbie Ray, who didn't make it out of the 2nd inning.

The 4th-seeded King Snakes quickly got on the board in the top of the 1st. With one out, Jose Altuve poked a single into shallow left where Yoenis Cespedes bobbled it long enough to allow Altuve to get to 2nd base. Marcell Ozuna promptly lined a single down the left-field line to quickly give Tucson a 1-0 lead.

Joey Votto and Nick Castellanos each mashed solo homers in the bottom of the 1st to tie it and then grab the lead for No. 2 Hopatcong. Things didn't get better for Ray in the 2nd inning. Cespedes led off with a single and Jackie Bradley walked before 2B Ronald Torreyes singled to load the bases and turn over the lineup. Zack Cozart stepped in and took advantage of a golden opportunity, doubling down the left-field line to score to and extend the lead to 4-1.

Josh Hader made an early appearance to try to stem the tide. With two runners in in scoring positions and still no one out, he got a huge strikeout of Votto and Ryan Zimmerman lined out to shortstop before Castellanos struck out to end the inning.

Hader kept it close but got into a situation in the bottom of the 4th. Torreyes got a one-out single out of the 9 hole and then Votto and Zimmerman both walked to load the bases. With two out, Tucson turned to Tanner Roark to face Castellanos. He grounded out to short to end the threat.

The King Snakes offense responded to Roark's heroics in the top of the 5th. Brett Gardner drew a one-out walk and grabbed 2nd base on a wild pitch. Altuve, already with his postseason-leading 17th and a walk in the game, smacked a homer deep to left center, cutting the lead to 4-3. Strasburg, seemingly still unnerved, walked Ozuna before coming back to strike out Mike Zunino and Luis Valbuena to retire the side.

In the bottom of the 5th, it was Hopatcong's turn to respond. Gary Sanchez lined a leadoff single to center and Bryce Harper walked. Cespedes grounded into a double play, with Sanchez advancing to 3rd base. Roark then intentionally walked the lefty-hitting Bradley to face Torreyes.

The No. 9 hitter came through with his 3rd hit of the game, scoring Sanchez for a 5-3 lead but also getting Bradley to 3rd base. Cozart took advantage of another scoring opportunity with a single up the middle to plate Bradley and extend the lead to 6-3. Votto grounded out to end the 5th.

Both bullpens kept it quiet over the last 4 innings. A leadoff walk to Zimmerman in the bottom of the 6th was erased on a double play by Castellanos and each team stranded a runner after getting aboard with a single.

Strasburg (2-1) struck out 10 and walked 3 over 6 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) to get the win. Tyler Lyons, Adam Warren and Alex Claudio combined to strike out five and allow just 1 hit over the last 3 innings. Claudio earned the save. Strasburg threw 56 of 101 pitches for strikes (.554).

Ray (1-3) took the loss with an ugly line: 1 inning, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks and a strikeout; 17 of his 32 pitches went for strikes (.531). Hader kept the King Snakes in the game with 2 2/3 innings of one-hit relief; he registered 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. Roark went 2 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 44 pitches, before Luis Garcia closed out the final 2 innings, with 1 hit and 1 strikeout.

Batting 9th, Torreyes went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs, Bradley had 2 runs. Cozart 2 hits and 2 RBI. Votto and Castellanos each had a solo HR. Altuve led Tucson with a 3-for-3 night and 2 RBIs on a home run. Ozuno had 2 hits and 1 RBI.

Hopatcong finished with 6 runs on 10 hits, leaving 9 men on base. Tucson had 3 runs on 6 hits, stranding 6 runners.

Game 2 will be Saturday in Hopatcong when Max Scherzer should be available to start for Tucson. Hader threw 42 pitches (27 for strikes, .642) in Game 1, so it remains to be seen how that might affect his availability for Game 2. Hopatcong is likely to start Kyle Hendricks.