Rainwater Suffers First Defeat, 'Hogs Shut Out for First Time
In the first two games of the series against the St. Paul Saints, the Grand Prairie AirHogs had plenty of opportunities to get victories, but could not get the big hit they needed. On Sunday, the AirHogs were simply overwhelmed at the plate by three Saints pitchers, as St. Paul won 7-0 to complete a three-game sweep in front of 1,552 fans at QuikTrip Park.
After both teams stranded runners in the first thanks to double plays hit into by their first basemen, Josh Rainwater (4-1) got out of a two-runner jam in the second, but could not pull it off in the third. With two outs and a runner on, Jason Cooper hit his second home run of the series to put the Saints (15-7) on the board. They doubled the total an inning later on a two-out, two-run double by Adam Frost, and never looked back, tacking on runs in the sixth, eighth and ninth.
Righty Alberto Rolon (3-0) got out of two-runner james in the first, third and fifth in his first start of 2011, going six innings with three walks, a hit batter, four singles and five strikeouts. Enter the St. Paul bullpen, which did not allow a single run in 12 innings in the series.
First was Chad Cordero, who got a flyout and two groundouts in the seventh, and second was Edwin Walker, who allowed one hit but struck out the final five AirHogs to finish off the sweep, giving Grand Prairie (15-8) its first three-game losing streak of the season.
The AirHogs continue their six-game homestand with a three-game set with the Amarillo Sox, starting at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, June 6.
