Tuesday, Sep. 08, 2009

Kuo's gem gives Tri-City 1-0 series lead

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Sheng-An Kuo turned out to be every bit the big-game pitcher Fred Ocasio hoped he would be.

Kuo allowed just three hits and no walks over seven innings in the Tri-City Dust Devils' 2-0 win over Salem-Keizer in Game 1 of the Northwest League championship series Monday night at Gesa Stadium.

Kuo, who was signed by the Colorado Rockies as a free agent out of Taiwan in 2007, locked in against the Volcanoes, who had the second-best offense in the NWL this season.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander breezed through seven innings in a fast-paced game that lasted just 1 hour, 44 minutes.

Kuo allowed a one-out, first-inning double to Dan Cook, then retired the next 13 batters in order in his best start of the season. Kuo finished the season 4-3 with a 5.12 ERA, but is 4-0 with a 1.36 mark in his last six appearances.

"We told him, 'You're a big-time pitcher, and this is a big-time game,' " said Ocasio, the Dust Devils manager. "He started the game when we clinched (the East division) in 2007. We couldn't have asked any more from him tonight."

Game 2 is at 7:15 p.m. today at Gesa Stadium.

Kuo still doesn't speak very good English, but when he calmly walked off the field after retiring the side in the top of the seventh, he was greeted with hugs and handshakes by a happy throng of teammates at the top of the dugout steps.

"I was so excited that they trusted me to pitch this game," said Kuo, who locked up against Salem-Keizer starter Jorge Bucardo, a NWL All-Star. "I didn't think about the other team."

Bucardo (0-1) took the loss but was outstanding in his own right. The right-hander tossed all eight innings for the Volcanoes, allowing two runs on eight hits.

"Coming in, these were the two best (pitching) staffs in the league. We expected a good battle," said S-K manager Tom Trebelhorn, who led the Volcanoes to their fourth straight West title this season. "I was impressed with Kuo. He was throwing four different pitches over the plate at different speeds with movement."

The Dust Devils backed up Kuo with some solid defense, including a skillful first-inning stop by catcher Jose Gonzalez on a fastball in the dirt and a diving backhanded stab of a grounder down the first-baseline by Ben Paulsen in the third.

Tim Wheeler also made a running catch on Ryan Cavan's sinking liner that prevented a run in the eighth.

Wheeler also figured into both Tri-City runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Joey Wong's leadoff single, Wheeler lined an RBI double off the wall in right-center field to make it 1-0. He then scored on Paulsen's single up the middle.

"We've been mentally consistent all year, and to us, this was just another game," Wheeler said. "We knew they were 7-3 against us, but we know we can beat any team."

Once Kuo left the game, Tri-City turned to its All-Star relief tandem. Craig Bennigson tossed one scoreless inning before giving way to closer Charlie Ruiz in the ninth. Ruiz, who led the NWL with 17 saves, struck out Cook, Evan Crawford and Drew Biery -- S-K's 2-3-4 hitters -- to end the game.

"Our team chemistry is off the charts. We couldn't be more in synch," Ruiz said. "This was huge. We had talked about wanting to punch (Salem-Keizer) in the face, and grabbing Game 1 is a great way to do that."

Ocasio agreed but was also cautiously optimistic about the rest of the series.

"This was one win of three (needed to win the series)," said Ocasio, who was named NWL Manager of the Year. "But this is what these guys have been waiting for. This is a big championship series, and they want to win."

Notes

Tri-City 2B Jeremiah Sammy is questionable to play in the series with a back strain. He had two at-bats in the Dust Devils' 7-6 loss to Boise on Sunday but said he didn't feel comfortable at the plate. ... Today's starters will be Dust Devils LHP Wes Musick (3-0, 2.49) against Volcanoes LHP Chris Gloor (7-1, 2.61).