Game 20: Miners at Fire, 2:00 p.m. (at Hermon Brothers)

This afternoon, the Mat-Su Miners begin a five-game series against the Athletes in Action Fire. While all five games of the series will take place at Hermon Brothers Field, the Miners will be the visiting team on the scoreboard for the first four games. The Fire is traveling for the season, after previously calling Growden Park in Fairbanks home.

The Miners enter the series on the heels of a disappointing 5-0 defeat Saturday night to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. The Miners were shutout for the fourth time this season in the game. Each of the Miners four ABL losses has come with the Miners being shutout.

Pilots starting pitcher Chris Belleque (Fr./Fresno St.) scattered four hits, with only one leaving the infield, as he went all nine innings. Jacob Brewer (Fr./Ball St.) pitched the first four innings for the Miners, allowing three earned runs.

Matt Vinson (So./Arkansas) provided all the offense the Pilots would need. Vinson had a two-out RBI single in the second, and later hit an inside the park two-run homer in the fourth, when Dominick Francia (Fr./Louisiana-Lafayette) came up empty on a diving attempt.

The Miners and Fire have met three times this season. Those meetings came at the start of the ABL season, when the Miners took two out of three games. With pitching from Steven Bruce (Fr./Oklahoma) and Ryan Kemp (Jr./St. Joe’s), the Miners struck out the Fire in the series opener. Each of those pitchers however, is no longer with the ball club. Kemp signed professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, while Bruce is injured. The second game of the series was a rain-shortened affair, which the Miners pulled out in five innings. The Fire shutout the Miners in the final game of the series.

The Miners enter the game sitting atop the ABL Standings. Last week the Miners went 3-2, beating the Oilers twice to take the lead in the Alaska Baseball League. The Fire has spent the weekend in Fairbanks, taking on the Goldpanners. The Panners swept the Fire, winning the finale 13-5.

Today the Miners send lefty Mark Anderson (So./BYU) to the hill. Anderson brings a consecutive scoreless innings streak of nine into the game. He last allowed a run, while pitching in relief in an exhibition game against the Pilots on June 11^th. Anderson’s last start came on June 17^th against the Bucs in Anchorage, when he worked 5 innings and scattered two hits. Anderson brings a record of 3-0 and an earned run average of 2.08 into the game.

ABL Standings (W-L-GB)

1.    Mat-Su Miners 10-4 –

2.     Peninsula Oilers 7-4 1.5

3.     Anchorage Bucs 6-4 2

4.    AIA Fire 5-7 4

5.     Anchorage Pilots 3-12 7.5

Today’s Game: Miners (10-4) at Fire (5-7)

First-pitch: 2:00 p.m. from Hermon Brothers Field. The Miners are the designated visiting team.

Media: Matt Dudas and Michael Broskowski have the call, beginning at 1:50 p.m. with the Mat-Su Miners Pre-Game Show. The game can be heard locally on Q99.7 and worldwide on www.matsuminers.org.

Pre-Game Guest: Matt Dudas will talk to Miners’ pitcher Jacob Brewer.

Tomorrow: The Miners play a Fourth of July doubleheader against the Fire, beginning at 4:00 p.m. from Hermon Brothers Field.