Raptors Come Up 1 Run Short in 6-5 Finish

Game 2 of the series put into perspective what each of these teams excels at in the field of play; The chukars showed why their on-base percentage is nearly .400 as they plated 6 runs and totaled 14 hits with every hitter in the lineup reaching base at least once. On the flip side, the Raptors demonstrated their lights-out bullpen, combining for 4.0 scoreless innings yet again and keeping the score right where it was when they entered the game. While they did come up 1 run short, it was a great battle of elite pitching and plate discipline; There will surely be fireworks if the rest of the series plays out like last night's game. 

Raptors starter Brock Gilliam did take his first loss on the year, but considering he gave up 10 hits, the damage could have been a lot worse than just 5 earned runs. He still managed to strike out 6 and get out of most of the jams he found himself in, despite him working from the stretch in almost every inning with traffic on the base paths. Additionally, the Raptors lineup was able to keep pace with the Chukars hitting fiesta after being down 5-2 and knotting it up even at 5. That was until the Chukars took the lead in the top half of the 6th and never looked back as they moved into the later innings. 

While it might not have been the result that the Raptors faithful were hoping for, a 6-5 one-run back-and-forth finish in which the bullpen put on another clinic is certainly a better result than getting trounced. The Raptors will be looking to get back into the Win column in Game 3 of the Raptors Chukars series tonight at 6:30 PM.