The Chillicothe Paints lost for the 15th time in 18 games away from home Friday, coming up short on both ends of a doubleheader in Florence. The two-game sweep by the Freedom sent the Paints to their eighth loss in the last nine games and knocked Chillicothe out of second place in the Frontier League's East Division.

The Paints came up just one run short in each game - 2-1 in the first one and 5-4 in Game 2 - and, as has been the case an overwhelming majority of the time this summer, the team couldn't come up with the clutch hit when it needed to.

That was true for both games.

In the first one, lefty Bryan Marshall turned in his best game of the year, giving up three hits, one run and walking only two in 42¼3 innings. He gave way to the Paints bullpen in the fifth, which turned in two scoreless innings before a bizarre play in the bottom of the seventh - doubleheader games in the FL are limited to seven regulation innings - cost reliever Tyler Meigs his first loss of the season.

With one out in the seventh and the score tied at 1, Meigs walked Florence shortstop Tyler Evans on five pitches. An error on Travis Garcia - on what might have been a double-play grounder - put runners at first and second before Reggie Watson grounded out to Garcia, putting runners at second and third with two outs.

Meigs induced a comeback grounder by Ryan Basham, but when the Paints' defense failed to cover first. Meigs lost the race to the bag as Evans scampered home with the winning run.

The second one wasn't as strange, but it was just as frustrating.

Through the first four innings, the Paints went hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring position, leaving four runners at either second or third in the process. The only big hit of the night came in the fifth inning, when Adrian Cantu shot his fourth home run over the wall in right for a three-run shot.

Problem was, the Paints were down 5-0 going into the inning.

Starter Perry Cunningham (3-3) lasted just two innings, giving up three runs on six hits along the way. Justin Drabek was touched up for two runs in his two innings of relief before Ryan Flanigan threw a perfect pair of innings to button things up.

But again, the hit the team needed just wasn't there.

After Cantu's home run, the Paints left the bases loaded in the sixth before pulling within one when Travis Storrer scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh. But, with runners on first and third, newest Paint Kevin Butler struck out, ending the threat and sending the Paints to another loss away from home.

Chillicothe will return to VA today for the final two games of the season's first half. Both games this weekend against Florence are scheduled for 6:05 p.m. starts.

The Dirt

Butler was signed by the Paints Friday afternoon. A catcher out of Appalachian State, Butler played in five games last year for the Washington Wild Things. He was Appy State's MVP in 2005. ... The worst news for the Paints is that the team has to go right back onto the road after this brief home stand. After the two games against the Freedom at VA this weekend, Chillicothe has eight away from home going into the All-Star Break. The Paints' collective batting average is about 30 points lower away from VA, and the pitching staff's ERA is about a full run higher when playing on the road. ... Former Paints player Beau Blacken went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader, with two doubles and two RBIs. On the year, Blacken is hitting .400 against the Paints, with two homers, three doubles and nine RBIs.