Javelina Eek Out 7-5 Win

The Julian Javelina went into their week five series with the Encinitas Beach Bums in need of a divisional win. Having already dropped series to the Blacksox and Rangers, it was imperative that Julian find a way to earn a win over a division rival, and they did.

Julian won the series by a count of 7-5 thanks in no small part to an overwhelming showing by the team's pitching staff. The Javelina won all six pitching categories. Julian pitching posted an impressive 6 wins, 48 strike outs, 6 holds, 2.98 ERA, and 1.19 WHIP, and managed to win despite getting only one save. Through five weeks, the Julian pitching staff finds its self ranked in the league's top five in wins (19), strike outs (258), and holds (25).

"Right now, our pitching is keeping us in games," said GM Jamie Hoyle. "They've been outstanding across the board, but the starting pitching has been even better than expected. They're taking us late into games, missing bats, and keeping guys off base for the most part."

The real (and most disappointing) story as it relates to this win is yet another lackluster performance by the Julian offense. Picked by many to be one of the better offenses in the league this season, the Javelina bats compiled a mere 3 home runs, 21 runs batted in, 24 runs, and failed to steal a single base. They did, however, post respectable walk (27) and batting average (.280) totals for the week. As a team, the Javelina rank near the bottom in two of six offensive categories (R, RBI), in the middle in two (HR, SB), and top five in two (BB, BA).

"The offense is an area of concern for us through five weeks," said Hoyle. "We're not hitting for the power we expected, the speed has not translated into steals, and the bottom line is we just aren't producing enough runs. That said, it's only five weeks and we do expect some guys to improve as the season progresses."

Swings and Misses....

OF/DH Adam Lind is mired in a horrible slump in May, bringing his average down near .230...Geovany Soto is enjoying a bounce back season and leads the offense with an astounding 23 walks in the early going...Andrew McCutchen hit .630 (10-16, 5 2B, 5 R, 3 BB) last week...Jon Garland has allowed 2 ER in his previous four starts (28 IP, 2 ER, 14 H, 16 K).