The Crushers 5-3 win Tuesday night over the Washington Wild Things was an exciting one for Crushers fans, but it was far from a well played game.
Both teams combined to leave 24 men on base, walk 17 batters and strike out 14 times.
Something to keep an eye on in the last 11 games is the Crushers' bullpen, which has been a strength of the Crushers all season.
Tuesday night the trio of Cristobal Mata, Ronnie Morales and J.J. Pacella allowed two runs on one hit. The problem was they also walked six batters in five innings of relief. In the last three games, the bullpen has allowed 14 runs.
Brent Lysander returned from an oblique strain to start Tuesday night's game. Although he only lasted four innings, he did not re aggravate the injury which is a great sign for the Crushers.
Washington's Jacob Demsey came into the series near the top of every offensive category in the Frontier League, but Crushers did not have any problems keeping him in check. Demsey went 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
With the win the Crushers, who have won four in a row, reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff berth to nine. They also increased their lead over Windy City, who lost to Gateway, to two and a half games for the final Wild Card spot.