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Peanuts stifle Joes

• Chris Webb homers and is brilliant on the mound during the Peanuts' 13th win in 14 games.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — Failing on two bunt attempts with a runner on first, South Georgia Peanuts pitcher Chris Webb seemingly was speeding on the fast track to an ugly at-bat.

But staring at the 0-2 pitch he sent sailing high above the foul pole in left field, the grotesque morphed into glorious.

That seems to be the standard for sizzling South Georgia these days. Even when things go wrong, they go right. Or in this case, go flying into a pristine Monday night, placing the finishing touches on a 6-0 Peanuts win against the Anderson Joes.

“I looked horrible in the previous two bunt attempts,” said Webb, who also earned his first win since joining the Peanuts two weeks ago. “I got the bunt sign for the first and second pitch but I was pushing at it. I said, ‘I got to make solid contact here.’ I got a  fastball in and got my hands through it.”

His home run, along with the team’s third shutout of the season, propelled South Georgia to its 13th win in 14 games. It equals the hot streak the team rode when it opened the season 13-1. The team’s magic number to win the first half of the South Coast League is now down to seven. Second-place Macon rained out Monday against Aiken.

“We are starting to click on all cylinders,” said Joey Hooft, who dodged a broken bat to make an out and also contributed a diving stop defensively.

It was Webb’s second start with the team, and it was a spectacular one. He struck out three, walked one and allowed just four hits.

A knuckleballer by trade, pitching coach Buddy York worked in the bullpen with Webb over the last week on throwing more fastballs and speeding up his time to the plate.

The approach alterations worked as Webb sliced six-tenths of a second and only confused hitters not knowing what to expect coming out of his hand.

“(Monday), I got ahead with fastball,” said Webb, who hasn’t thrown conventional since last July. “I just need to go out again next time and throw strikes.”

Or just follow the lead of his teammates. The entire Peanuts pitching staff has been nearly unstoppable of late. It came into the game holding 1.97 ERA in the last 10 games.

Jake Upwood and Drew Shetrone came on to finish the game, allowing just two hits and never putting the lead in jeopardy.

Shetrone, who started the season with Macon before joining the Peanuts on June 14 and has since taken control of the closer role, has yet to give up an earned run with the team in 7O innings of work.

“Just lights out,” Peanuts manager Wally Backman said of the bullpen. “I would put any one of those guys out there in a close ballgame if it was their situation.”

The lead provided for the bullpen was established in a fashion different than many have been during the current winning streak. It wasn’t the powerful bats of the Peanuts’ top two run producers, Steve Garrabrants and Doc Brooks, providing the advantage. In fact, the two struggled to a rare combined 1-for-6 with one RBI.

Instead, it was an RBI triple from Joey Hooft and two RBI from Nick Prosise that put the Peanuts ahead.

“That’s what it takes to win a bunch of games in a row,” said Backman after his first game back from a three-game suspension. “Everybody is contributing.” 

The contributions began in the second inning, when the Peanuts built an early lead as a Prosise sacrifice fly scored Brooks.

It then rolled over into a two-out rally in the third.

There, Jasha Balcom drew a walk and Hooft followed by slipping a Pete Nickerson pitch into the left center-field gap. Sliding into third base, Hooft notched his first triple of the season.

“I knew it would be close,” Hooft said. “It was a good feeling seeing the ball drop.”

By the time Garrabrants sliced an RBI single to left, Hooft scored and the Peanuts led, 3-0.

That set up Webb’s at-bat in the fifth. With Johnny Washington on first, Webb lofted the pitch directly toward the foul pole. Towering high above the yellow fencing, the ball crossed barely in the field of play according to home plate umpire Jason Williams.

Webb weaved through a contingent of baffled Joes arguing with Williams as he touched the plate, led by manager Desi Wilson. Despite the anger, the home run held up and was the first ever by a Peanuts pitcher.

Much like Webb’s at-bat, the game looked good in the end, but wasn’t without mistakes. Backman cited multiple base-running errors as well as missed signs that clouded an otherwise dominating performance.

But when things are going like they are right now for the Peanuts, those flub-ups don’t seem to matter.

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