The power was knocked-out at Hermon Brothers Field before the first pitch on Friday and the Oilers offense also lost all of its power, as the Peninsula Oilers were shutout by the Mat-Su Miners 5-0.
The win for the Miners (21-13) handed the Oilers (12-26) their seventh straight loss. It also booted the Oilers out of the fourth spot in the Alaska Baseball League standings, now one game behind the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks in the playoff standings.
Miners 5- Oilers 0
Without power in the park, Oilers starter Jonathan Carlos delivered his best performance of the season in a losing effort. The Oilers right-hander over five innings allowed one run on four hits in his first start against the Miners in Palmer this season. The Miners scored their lone run against Carlos in the third when Kody Huff drove in Kaden Hogan on an RBI single.
The Oilers against Miners starter Randy Abshier were unable to score any runs against the southpaw. The “iceman” stranded 10 Oilers through four frames. Abshier was ejected in the top of the fifth inning after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Tom Swoboda. Miners head coach Tyler Lebrun was tossed moments after.
The Miners added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth against Oilers reliever Kyle Muller. Mat-Su totaled three hits in the inning against the right-hander.
Mat-Su added another pair of runs in the eighth against reliever Drew Thorpe, who allowed the first three men reach on base hits.
Miners closer Jacob McNairy retired the Oilers in order in the ninth to secure the 5-0 win.
The Oilers finish their season 3-8 against the Miners, with an 0-5 record at Hermon Brothers Field.
(Photo courtesy of www.oilersbaseball.com)
ABL Playoff Primer:
With the loss on Friday, the Oilers now sit last in the ABL standings, one game behind the Chinooks for the final Top of the World Series Playoff seed. The Oilers own the tie-breaker against the Chinooks due to an advantage in head-to-head wins (6-4) in a best of 11-game season series.
The final Oilers homestand begins on Wednesday, July 24th, a five-game series against the Anchorage Bucs.
The Oilers battle the Chinooks for the final time on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Lee Jordan Field.
Follow the Oilers on ESPN 1140 AM and www.radiokenai.com
