Chris Oxspring pitched five innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks.  Four of the runs crossed the plate courtesy of two home runs, the sixth and seventh he has allowed over the past three games.  Over the past 12.1 innings, Oxspring has allowed 18 runs.  He has allowed five runs or more in five of his eight starts.

Bobby Scales broke a 4-for-21 slump by going 4-for-6 in the doubleheader.  He added a three run homer, his fourth of the year, one shy of his career high in 98 games with Lake Elsinore in 2001 in game one and tied that career high when he knocked his fifth out of the park in the second half of the doubleheader.  It has taken him 35 games to reach five homers this year.  His 25 RBI’s on the season moved him into the club lead and he has eight multi-RBI games this year.  He had six multi-RBI contests in 93 games last year.

After blowing the save on Friday, Brad Baker completed the double by saving both games on Sunday.  He leads the Pacific Coast League with 12 saves.  Baker has allowed four runs in two games, three runs in another to compromise 11 of the 12 runs he has surrendered on the year.  Although the opposition is hitting just .246 off him this year, his WHIP is 1.68 due to his 15 walks allowed.

Mobile won 2-1

One day after his complete game shut out, Mobile starter Mike Thompson talked to BayBears broadcaster Tim Hagerty.

“There was one (inning with) five pitches,” Thompson explained before Sunday’s game.  “That really helped.  There were a couple (innings) I was thinking ‘that was quick.’  I got pretty fortunate.  They were free swinging last night.  That surprised me.  They only hit the ball hard two or three times.  They did me a favor swinging behind in the count and that always helps.”

And of course every good pitcher will thank his offense.

“That was really nice going into the ninth with 11 runs.  It was fun.”

On Sunday Travis Chick had his finest outing of the year.  He breezed through five innings of work, not allowing more than one baserunner in an inning.  In the sixth, two reached base with no one out but Chick got out of the inning without allowing a run in what proved to be his last inning of work.  He did not figure into the decision, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five.  Chick has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his nine starts and three runs or fewer in each of his past five.

A solo homer by Paul McAnulty that barely cleared the outfield wall, just two feet inside the foul pole, won the game for Mobile.  The outfielder has now homered in consecutive games and has four homers over his last seven games.  He has hit safely in six of the past seven games and has scored nine runs over that span.

While Greg Sain extended his hitting streak to ten games, Luke Carlin pushed his to six with a base hit in three at bats.  The catcher is hitting .361 this year in a part-time role.  Carlin did hit into his first double play of the year and threw out one of three runners attempting to steal.  He has nabbed nine of the 26 runners attempting to steal, good for 34.6 percent.

Lake Elsinore lost 5-4

Leo Rosales blew his second straight save opportunity, taking his second straight loss.  He let two runs in on three hits and has given up five runs in his last inning of work with six of the nine batters he has faced reaching base.  Rosales has blown three saves on the season.  His ERA in May is 11.12 and hitters are swatting .400 off him this month.

Brett Bonvechio hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first inning, giving him homers in successive games.  He went 3-for-4 on the day with a double.  The third baseman is hitting .366 during the month of May, raising his average from .256 to .309.  Sunday was his third three-plus hit night in the last seven games.

Jared Wells surrendered three runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work.  The righty has allowed three runs or more in seven of his nine starts with only one counting as a quality start (six plus innings and three runs or less).  Wells has a 4.12 ERA in May after a 5.12 month of August.

Fort Wayne won 9-3

The legend of Michael Ekstrom continues to grow.  After throwing five shutout innings on Sunday, Ekstrom has gone 15 innings without allowing a run.  In nine starts he has allowed eight earned runs and just two have crossed the plate over his last 29 innings of work, a 0.62 ERA.  He is now 6-0 on the year with a 1.29 ERA – putting him second in the league in ERA.  He has held the opposition to a .180 average during the month of May.

Third baseman Brett Dowdy had his second straight three-hit game, adding his fifth triple to tie him for second most in the Midwest League.  The right-handed hitter now has four three-hit games on the year.  Dowdy also had three RBI’s, his second three RBI game of the year.  Since being inserted into the two-hole in the lineup, he has hit .326 and he is hitting .373 at home.