Sean Becker says each time he takes to the mound he wants to better his last appearance.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats would probably settle for a replica of his Saturday performance his next time out.
Becker, a late-season fill-in, turned in a gem against the visiting Mankato Moondogs, striking out eight in eight innings of shutout magnificence, in what could go down as the top pitching performance of the season for the streaking Cats, winners of five straight Northwoods League games.
How dominant was Becker?
Not one Mankato player reached third base the entire game. Just two, designated hitter Audie Afenir in the fourth, and catcher Andrew Coffman in the fifth, made it as far as second.
“It’s always great to be able to come out healthy and be able to help these guys win. That was my job coming in a week ago,” said Becker, who improved to 2-0 with the 6-0 triumph, taking a no-hitter into the fourth inning.
“Last Saturday I was able to go eight. You always want to do better than the last start. So it’s pretty much the only mentality I had going into today.”
Knowing his philosophy, Becker is already starting to take a bit of ribbing from his new-found teammates, wondering what he plans to do for an encore the next time out.
“A couple of people have gotten on me to try and go a complete game. But being able to make my pitches and keep the lead what it is, being able to throw up zeroes, you can’t really ask much more than that,” said Becker, who is about to get some help in the rotation, with the expected return of ex-Cats hurler Zak Miller, scheduled to start Monday night, the third game of a five-game series between Thunder Bay and Mankato.
Manager Andy Judkins said he’ll be completely happy if Becker plateaus at this point.
“It’s kind of nice and a relief for everybody. He takes the pressure off everybody if he can go eight innings of shutout ball,” Judkins said. “He did what he’s done twice now. Let’s see if he can keep it going. Everybody else builds off it.”
Admittedly, he had a little help early in this one.
The Cats rolled off four runs in the first, thanks to a five-walk inning by Mankato starter Julien Soucy, a Phillip Lyons run-scoring double the only hit of the inning as Soucy was shown the showers in a hurry.
“It probably took a little pressure off Sean early, but we only had five hits, and when you only have five hits, you wouldn’t expect to score six runs,” Judkins said, noting it appears a new attitude, a winning one, has developed in the Border Cats clubhouse.
“The pitching was outstanding. Throwing strikes is the name of the game. If you get ahead you get good results. They both looked awesome tonight.”
The second pitcher Judkins referenced was Jerrick Suiter, who started the game as the designated hitter, and did a pretty decent job in that role, doubling, singling, scoring a run and driving one in before heading the bullpen to mop up for Becker, striking out two while only giving up a single hit.
The first-half champion Moondogs (10-11), dropped in an early hole by Soucy, held on thanks to reliever Davis Henderson, who threw five innings, allowing just one run on Suiter’s fourth-inning single.
Thunder Bay’s only other run came in the seventh off Patrick Goelz, who an inning later achieved a baseball rarity, striking out four batters in one inning, Patrick Gallagher reaching on a strikeout and wild pitch to lead off the inning.
The Cats (10-11) are in a three-way tie for fifth in the North Division, 2.5 games behind Duluth.
Claw marks: Thunder Bay 2B Phillip Lyons reached on a first-inning double, on a rare catcher's interference call in the fourth and on an error in the seventh ... The Moondogs introduced four straight pinch-hitters in the ninth to face Suiter. The Cats batted through the lineup in the decisive first ... Attendance was 808 ... It was bring your dog to the ballpark night at Port Arthur Stadium.
