The nightmare continued for the Ducks on Saturday as they managed just three hits in a a 2-1 loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils clinched the series with the win, having edged out Oregon 7-6 in extra innings the night before.
Arizona State pitcher Ryan Kellogg’s changeup kept Oregon hitters off balance all afternoon. Kellogg struck out seven and retired 30 of the 32 batters he faced in the complete game effort. More than 70 percent of his first pitches went for strikes and consequently he finished the game with a .556 WHIP and .156 on-base percentage.
“I think arguably he’s one of the better pitchers, period, in the country and certainly in our conference,” Horston said. “The reason they put him on Saturday is he’s an awfully good pitcher and gobbles up innings and maybe serves as a bridge for the relief for Friday to Sunday.”
Oregon starting pitcher David Peterson threw a gem of his own, but another highly unproductive offensive effort thwarted any shot at a win. Peterson allowed just three hits and a .818 WHIP, but the Sun Devils worked efficiently with the opportunities presented.
Phil Craig-St. Louis was the only productive hitter in the sputtering Oregon batting order. He came through with two clutch two-out hits—a bases-empty double to the wall and a seventh-inning single to score Brandon Cuddy from second and tie the game at one apiece.
“I played against [Kellogg] in a couple championships,” St. Louis said in reference to the previous team he played for in Canada. “We tried to stay with an approach but I guess he got us today.”
Arizona State’s Andrew Snow led off the top of the eighth with a single and scored three batters later. Colby Woodmansee knocked in Snow on a go-ahead double he yanked down the right field line. Relief pitcher Stephen Nogosek entered the game to face the right-handed Woodmansee in the crucial at-bat, but the run and, hence, loss were both charged to Peterson.
“We’re not controlling the things we can control,” Horton said. “When you’re scuffling and facing a guy like Kellogg, you better play close to perfect baseball and unfortunately we didn’t.”
The loss is the Ducks’ sixth in their last seven games. They’ll be hungry to preserve a split in the three-game series which culminates tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at PK Park.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @kennyjacoby