By JEFF CASPERSEN/Sports Editor
They didn’t break out the champagne for this one. That’s because the ultimate goal remains unattained.
Behind the arm of Ezequiel Astacio and an explosive offense, the Round Rock Express rallied to an 8-0 win over the Nashville Sounds Sunday afternoon to claim the best-of-five Pacific Coast League American Conference Championship Series.
Express President Jay Miller – sitting in the Dell Diamond press box with his club comfortably ahead – said it best when asked if bottles of champagne were on ice in the clubhouse like when the team clinched the American South division title in late August.
“The guys said they have one more to do before we do that again.”
Round Rock will have to beat the Pacific Conference powerhouse Tucson Sidewinders in the PCL Champion Series before once again spraying the bubbly.
“That's an outstanding team,” Express manager Jackie Moore said of the Sidewinders, who wrapped up the year with the PCL’s best record (91-53). “We know we have our hands full, but somehow, some way [our] guys seem to rise to the occasion. The slate’s clean, all even. We’re tied for first.”
Astacio showed poise under intense pressure, limiting the Sounds to just seven hits and few scoring opportunities. What was working for the 26-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic?
“My fastball,” he said. “I tried to throw my fastball to both sides of plate.”
And Astacio did so effectively, racking up four strikeouts against a single walk. The Sounds managed just one multi-hit inning, putting runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth.
After grounding into a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning, Astacio received a rousing ovation from the home crowd. Why cheer a double play? Because Astacio’s appearance in the batter’s box meant another inning on the mound.
“He was outstanding,” Moore said. “Here again you talk about a young man who when he came back from the big leagues he had no confidence whatsoever. I give all the credit in the world to [pitching coach] Burt Hooton. He spent a lot of time with [Astacio]. He had patience with him to get him back on the right track and today was a perfect example of it.”
Astacio struggled in time spent with the Astros in 2005 and pitched there during parts of April and May this season. He looked far from sharp early on this year for the Express, but has held opponents to one run or less in five of his last six starts.
“You know I had problems with my mind. I tried to do too good,” the young pitcher explained. “I worked a lot with my pitching coach. He told me to let them hit the ball.”
On Sunday, the Round Rock offense did plenty of hitting.
In a three-run first inning, Brooks Conrad scored Mike Rodriguez on a sacrifice fly and Hector Gimenez found a hole in the right side of the Sounds’ infield to drive in two more runs off starter Ben Hendrickson.
“We came out early, scored those three runs. That was huge for us,” Moore said. “And we did it at home.”
Hendrickson – who earlier in the summer pitched six no-hit innings in a game at Round Rock – exited after five innings Sunday. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits and walked three.
The Express kept piling on the runs, striking for three more in the fifth. J.R. House smacked a sacrifice fly to plate McEwing for one and Jesse Garcia later singled in two more runs.
For good measure, McEwing belted a two-run home run to the grass berm in left field in the sixth to round out the scoring at 8-0.
Round Rock took Monday to relax in Round Rock before heading up to Tucson on Tuesday.
“We’ve got one more level to go,” said Moore, surrounded by a semi-circle of reporters while sitting at his office desk. “It’s a job well done for those guys on the other side of the clubhouse. They’re an outstanding group. Every day they’ve been there with the right attitude, with their game faces on.”