Chiefs' bats sizzle for their ace again

Syracuse scores seven and John Parrish runs record to 7-0 before nice ABS crowd.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

By Lindsay Kramer

Staff writer

Pitching with a lead of seven or eight runs is a luxury, no doubt.

It's also a responsibility, and one that Syracuse's John Parrish takes seriously. Parrish remained both perfect and appreciative on Friday night, winning again behind the lively bats of his teammates as the Chiefs trounced Norfolk 7-0 at Alliance Bank Stadium.

Russ Adams, Chip Cannon and Erik Kratz each drove in a pair to help the team's ace improve his record to 7-0. The Chiefs tend to create a traffic jam around their bat rack when Parrish pitches - coming into the game he was receiving an average of 8.29 runs behind him in his last seven starts.

But those cushions do anything but make Parrish drowsy. Friday, in front of a season-high home crowd of 6,933, he allowed just two hits in six innings and fanned six.

"I'm not going to give in on any pitch," the lefty said. "I'm not going to take stuff off (his pitches) because we're up seven runs. I guess they like playing behind me. They have definitely been scoring runs."

Parrish, who pitched for the Orioles and Mariners last season, throws the type of quick, aggressive game that lets his buddies get off the field and into the batter's box. Friday, he walked just one and turned in 1-2-3 innings in the first, third, fourth and fifth frames.

"He has confidence, so you have confidence in the field, which gets you to bat," said Kratz, his catcher. "Any time a pitcher works fast, that keeps everyone in it. The other team is

trying to claw back (from a deficit). Once they get aggressive, that's when he's at his best. He has confidence to throw any pitch in any situation."

Precisely when in the game Parrish throws them has been his own personal curveball this season. A reliever for the past eight seasons, the organization converted him to a starter this year.

"I'm trying to figure out a routine that's right for me every five days," said Parrish, who lowered his ERA to 3.18.

The pitcher's adaptability makes him a perfect fit on this team.

The Chiefs' lineup has a little more stability as they returned home for the first of an eight-game homestand, but not much. Outfielder and leading hitter Adam Lind (.328) has missed the last five games with a viral infection in his intestine, although Syracuse manager Doug Davis said he's close to returning.

The last time the Chiefs played on their own grass May 20, they fielded an infield of Cannon (normally a first baseman) at short, catcher Curtis Thigpen at third, Class A callup Marcos Cabral at second and outfielder Matt Watson at first.

Friday, Cannon was back at first, recent free-agent signee Danny Sandoval played second, shortstop Pedro Lopez came off the disabled list to take his old spot and Toronto send-down Hector Luna was back in his stomping grounds at third.

Winning remains the one constant for the Chiefs, who are now 11 games above .500.

"I think we weathered the storm. But we have guys stepping in, playing wherever," Davis said. "It was almost to the point where guys came to the park, they didn't know where they were playing. They all want to play. It's a confident group. That kind of stuff rubs off on anybody."

The Chiefs wasted no time building Parrish's cushion in the first, dinging Norfolk starting pitcher Zach Clark for a pair of runs. They came courtesy of an Adams double that drove home Wayne Lydon and Sandoval.

Lydon led off the inning with a single, which extended his on-base streak to 18 games. He also scored two runs to extend his scoring streak to nine straight games, two short of the team's all-time record.

Clark, making his first Triple-A appearance, settled down to keep Syracuse off the scoreboard again until the fifth. But then he plunked Luna with the bases loaded to force home Kratz, and Cannon followed with a two-run single to make it 5-0.

"We're just putting together quality at-bats," Kratz said. "Tonight, we had guys on base all the time, we're working counts. It's nothing spectacular. It's someone different every night. Nobody is asking anybody to hit four home runs a night. Get them on, move them over, get them in."

Lindsay Kramer can be reached at 470-2151 or lkramer@syracuse.com