Strange things add up as streak ends at seven
Paints build quick lead, lose it just as fast
The Gazette Staff
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
But this one was just weird.
A bad bottom of the third cost the Paints a six-run lead, and a 45-minute firework delay cost them any late-game momentum they might have had as the team's seven-game winning streak ended with a 10-7 loss to River City Wednesday night.
Yep - that was a 45-minute fireworks delay.
That situation, along with a third inning that featured 14 runs, four walks, one hit batsman, 10 hits and three errors between the two teams pushed the game close to the four-hour mark. And while that fireworks display - the capper to the seventh-inning stretch - helped push the game deep into the night, the third inning pulled the momentum away from the streaking Paints.
The third inning.
Such a good start, such a big turnaround.
Chillicothe sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs - all unearned - to pile up the big, early lead. But Brian Marshall, who missed his last start due to injury, walked Jeff Landry to lead off the bottom of the third, then allowed three straight hits and another walk to bring the Rascals to within four runs. And Brian McCullough didn't fare any better after he was summoned from the Paints bullpen.
McCullough - who took Marshall's spot in the pitching rotation the last time around - gave up a single and a bases-loaded walk to make it a 6-4 game. A two-run error by Paul Rutgers on a ball hit by Chris Bielski tied the game, and a two-run single by Ken Lup Jr. staked the Rascals to a lead they never lost.
After those third-inning struggles, McCullough settled down and threw two one-hit innings before giving way to Jason Quarrles, who gave up the final two runs of the night. To be fair, Quarrles' two-inning stint was split in the middle by the fireworks delay, and he gave up both runs and all four hits he allowed after going back to the mound after the long lay-off.
The Paints did make a run at it after blowing the big lead, cutting the Rascals lead to one in the fifth when Lance Koenig singled home Travis Storrer, who tripled. And the Paints had runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the seventh, but couldn't cash in.
With two wins in the three-game River City series behind them, the Paints turn their attention to the other side of St. Louis today, when the team will open a three-game set against Gateway. Perry Cunningham (5-4, 4.33) is the scheduled starter for the Paints.
The Dirt
For such a hitter-friendly stadium, no home runs were hit out of T.R. Hughes Ballpark Wednesday. ... Catcher Dan Cummins got a break in the game, replaced by Kevin Butler, who had a hit in four at-bats. It was Butler's fourth appearance in more than a month with the team. ... River City starter Steve Brook gave up seven runs in five innings - an ugly total until you consider that all but one of them were unearned. ... In the for-what-it's-worth category, somebody in River City must be a fan of one member of the Paints bullpen. In the notes on the box score from Tuesday night's game, the Rascals listed Brian McCullough as today's scheduled starter for the Paints. In the notes from Wednesday's game - the eve of the Rascals' start to a series against Florence - the Freedom's next-day starter is listed as, yes, Brian McCullough.

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