Bourne offense goes quiet in pitching duel, lose series to Brewster

The Braves lost their second straight contest on Saturday to the Brewster Whitecaps 2-1 in a tight pitching duel at Doran Park.

Bourne offense goes quiet in pitching duel, lose series to Brewster

By Mac Friday

(Photo: Joey Kurtz/Bourne Braves)

Just a week ago, the Bourne Braves offense was firing on all cylinders, as they came together for an 11-run top of the ninth, beating the Hyannis Harbor Hawks with 18 runs on 14 hits. The Braves carried this offensive streak across the past week, notching double-digit wins in four out of their last six games heading into Saturday.

Oh, what a difference a few circumstances can create.

On Saturday night the Braves offense did not come out to play against the Brewster Whitecaps in the final regular season meeting between the two sides as pitching absolutely dominated. Bourne fell 2-1, grabbing just two hits in the process against a lights-out Whitecaps pitching staff, while the Bravos shoved in their own way.

“Tonight was probably the best pitching we have seen all season,” Braves manager Scott Landers said. “Our guys pitched well too, when it’s 95-96 going back and forth for both sides, you’re in for a good, competitive ballgame.”

For lovers of a good old-fashioned pitching duel, Saturday night was perfect, as Braves starter Hunter Furtado and Whitecaps starter Zane Morehouse traded blows for five innings at Doran Park.

Responsible for five of the seven runs in the early stages of the blowout win in Hyannis, Furtado looked to deliver a performance reminiscent of his strong start in Chatham on July 1 at Veteran’s Field in which he allowed two runs on four hits through five innings of work.

Instead, the lefty flamethrower was even better, especially under pressure. Furtado navigated out of jams in the first and third innings with multiple runners on, keeping his cool and receiving some valuable help from his defense. The lefty exited after a one-two-three fifth inning, with an exclamation point at the end via strikeout. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out four.

“He threw well today I thought,” Landers said of his starter. “I think he lost his feel with some pitches a little bit at the end but he battled and did what exactly we asked of him today and pitched five scoreless, couldn’t ask for much more.”

“Today was about using my offspeed more often, not living off of my fastball as much,” Furtado said. “I took it one pitch at a time today instead of thinking about the entire outing or how long I could stay in the game. I just wanted to attack every batter the best that I can… I wanted to be in the now, so not worrying about my last outing or my next outing, just what I had going on at each moment.”

The Whitecaps racked up two runs in the top of the sixth off of the first reliever to follow Furtado, righty Justin Willis. Left fielder Javier Vaz laced a leadoff double before Willis hit shortstop Alex Freeland to put runners on first and second with no outs. Then came a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Third baseman Carson Demartini then powered a ground-rule double over the right field fence to score both runners before Willis cleaned everything up.

Righty Ty Cummings entered in the eighth and despite allowing three hits and a walk during that time, he didn’t allow a run to cross after a trio of strikeouts and a hyper-valuable double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.

“I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Cummings said. “It had been a little while since I had thrown last, but I’m super grateful for my defense. They helped me out big time there at the end. It felt good to get out there and grab a couple of zeroes for us.”

On the other side, Morehouse was nails through five and two-thirds innings. The Texas righty allowed four Bravos to reach via the free pass but found a way to grab a single strikeout in four innings across his appearance and also seized some clutch assistance from his defense, catching two Bravos attempting to steal second base.

Lefty Ryan Chasse came in for Morehouse and continued the dominance laid out by his predecessor. Chasse struck out eight Bravos across three and a third innings, including all three Bourne hitters in the bottom of the ninth.

Left fielder Evan Sleight led off with a walk in the eighth before back-to-back strikeouts. Third baseman John Peck walked, moving Sleight into scoring position. Chris Brito then pinch-hit in the designated hitter slot for Carson Roccaforte and delivered an RBI single up the middle, shattering his bat in the process. It was the only Braves run to cross on the night.

“I just wanted to stay up the middle because he was going away to righties,” Brito said. “i was hoping he turned over the breaking ball and that’s what I got and did the job… When you face good pitchers you have to focus on your approach. (Brewster) dominated in that regard and we came up short.”

With 31 games down and 13 to go before the playoffs, Bourne is in a comfortable spot lodged in point cushions between the first and second place teams in the West in Cotuit and Hyannis, whom they trail by seven and six, respectively and Wareham and Falmouth, who they lead by five. For Landers and his squad, it’s essential they find a second wind in the final portion of the season, especially in a four-game home stand this coming week against three West Division teams.

“It’s getting to the time in the season where guys are a little tired,” Landers said. “We want to finish strong before this upcoming off day and then figure some things out to get through the grind before next week.”

Bourne’s final game ahead of the off-day is in Hyannis on Sunday, the final time it visits McKeon Park. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.