TEXAS LEAGUE Pham flusters Naturals again

— Spring

field leadoff hitter Tommy

Pham has found the North

west Arkansas pitching staff

to his liking.

Pham was on base four

times Thursday, going 2 for

3 and scoring 3 runs to lead

the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory

over the Naturals before an

announced crowd of 4,464 at

Arvest Ballpark.

Pham is hitting .363 in sev

en games against the Naturals

this season with 9 hits, 5 walks

and 10 runs scored.

“Pham is coming on,”

Springfield Manager Pop

Warner said. “The last few

series he’s been impressive,

putting good swings on the

ball and getting on base.” He was on base his first

four times Thursday and

scored the first three times.

Pham drew a walk to open

the game, moved to second

on a passed ball and scored

on a double by Matt Adams.

Springfield pushed the

lead to 3-0 in the third inning.

Niko Vasquez led off the in

ning with a single. Pham fol

lowed with a triple to drive

in Vasquez and scored on a

sacrifice fly by Adams.

“It sets the tempo for the

game,” Pham said of getting

on base from the leadoff spot.

“It’s important for me to get

on base because we’ve got

guys behind me doing well.

If I get on base, it helps them

out a lot.” The Naturals (11-12) ral

lied to within 3-2 in the bot

tom of the third inning when

Nick Van Stratten doubled

with one out and scored on

a single by Christian Co

lon. Anthony Seratelli, who

walked ahead of Colon,

scored on a sacrifice fly by

Jeff Bianchi.

But the Naturals managed

only two more hits against

Cardinals starter Michael

Blazek (2-1), who allowed

five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Jesse Simpson retired four

batters before Matt Frevert

pitched a scoreless ninth in

ning for his fourth save.

“We had a couple chanc

es,” Northwest Arkansas

Manager Brian Poldberg

said. “We hit some balls

hard, but there’s not a lot to

show for it.” The Cardinals added two

more runs in the fifth. Pham

singled to open the inning.

Alex Castellanos was intentionally walked with two outs, and Eric Duncan earned a base hit in front of center fielder Van Stratten, who misplayed the ball to allow both runners to score and chase starter Will Smith (1-3).

“We pitched around [Castellanes] to get to the lefthander and he got a first-pitch base hit,” Poldberg said. “The wet grass didn’t help. It makes it tougher on the center fielder, but they should’ve scored only one there. We gave them a couple [runs].” The Cardinals put their leadoff batter on five times, also putting pressure on the pitchers and defense.

“When you’re giving up a lot of leadoff guys, good things [don’t] happen a lot of times,” Poldberg said.

Jose Garcia also had two hits for the Cardinals.

Colon was 2 for 3 to lead the Naturals, who lost their third consecutive game.

Standings NORTH DIVISION W L Pct. GB Tulsa (Rockies) ............ 16 9 .640 - NW Arkansas (Royals) 11 12 .478 4 Springfield (Cardinals) . 12 14 .462 4 1/2 Arkansas (Angels) ......9 13 .409 5 1/2 SOUTH DIVISION W L Pct. GB San Antonio (Padres) .. 17 10 .630 - Midland (Athletics) ....... 13 14 .481 4 Corpus Christi (Astros) 12 15 .444 5 Frisco (Rangers) .......... 12 15 .444 5 WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Springfield 2, NW Arkansas 1 Tulsa 8, Arkansas 4 Frisco 3, San Antonio 2, 10 innings Corpus Christi 4, Midland 2 THURSDAY’S GAMES Frisco 5, San Antonio 3 Tulsa 4, Arkansas 2 Springfield 5, Northwest Arkansas 2 Midland 6, Corpus Christi 5 TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Springfield at NW Arkansas, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at Frisco, 7 p.m.

Arkansas at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.

Midland at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m.

Sports, Pages 19 on 05/06/2011

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