Rockets' record justified

The Portland Rockets are 27-5-1.
Those numbers jump off the page. They certainly did to CR publisher Jack Ronald on Monday when he was proofreading the sports page.
He knew the Rockets were good, but that good?
Yes, that good.
Here are a few reasons why:

The stars
On a team with a winning percentage over .800, everyone is good. Dalton Tinsley and Zach Tanner stand out.
Tinsley is the guy on the team guaranteed to go home with a dirty uniform. He goes after everything 100 percent.
He’s been the perfect sparkplug for Portland’s offense this year from the leadoff spot.
In a June win over the Napoleon Riverbandits, he went 6-for-7 with five runs. On Saturday he failed to reach base in his first three at bats, but then bounced back with five straight hits. One of those was the double that drove in the game-tying run, and then, of course, he sent dust flying when he came sliding home with the game-winner.
Tanner turned heads with his bat early in the season.
The Yorktown product who played at Wright State University hit four home runs in the Rockets’ first 10 games. And he’s continued to be strong for the team from the clean-up spot.
But his defense is just as, if not more, impressive.
Tanner gets to everything. The shortstop went so far to track down a grounder Sunday that he ended up making his throw from the grass near the left-field line.
He may have an error or two this year, but I don’t remember seeing him make one.

The most-improved
Logan Hug and Tyler Reynolds don’t have the big bats or power arms, but Portland wouldn’t be a 27-win team without them.
Reynolds, a Muncie Southside graduate, didn’t pitch much for the Rockets last year.
He was behind a long line of strong arms and wasn’t quite ready to break through.
But the loss of Billy Geeslin to injury opened a spot in the rotation, and Reynolds has claimed it with gusto. The left-hander has used a mix of off-speed pitches and accuracy to baffle opposing hitters to the tune of a 7-1 record, including a win in relief in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of the Fort Wayne Expos.
Hug has been just as important for Portland at the plate.
Last season his bat was a weak spot in the lineup. Not anymore.
Now Hug does nothing but hit, and hit, and hit. When the Rockets need him to get a bunt down to move a runner, he does it. He does whatever it takes to help the team win.
When he came to the plate Sunday with Tinsley on second base as the potential winning run, there was no doubt Hug would do the job to bring him in.

The local guys
Portland has been fortunate to have players from The Commercial Review’s coverage area on the roster throughout the last decade.
Mitch Waters, Thomas McCowan and Dan Bollenbacher continue that tradition.
On most teams Bollenbacher would easily be the ace. And he may be for the Rockets. It’s just hard to tell because the pitching staff is so deep.
The South Adams High School graduate is a hard-throwing right-hander, who struck out 11 in a complete-game shutout in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
McCowan, like Hug and many of the players on the squad, will do anything to help the Rockets win. He plays third base, or first base, or wherever manager Randy Miller needs him.
Waters is the kind of guy who would drive you crazy if he was on the opposing team; but you’re happy to have him on yours. The veteran is still nasty on the mound and consistently puts the ball in play at the plate.
••••••••••
So yes, Portland is that good this year.
The players mentioned above are just a few of the reasons. Junior Santos, Chris Miller, Justin Miller, Geoff Bowers, Michael Caley, Nick Hollowell, Dylan Brammer, Austin Bridges, Alex Delk and Justin Marrero have all played their parts as well.
And your last chance to see the Rockets play on their home field is this weekend when they host the World Baseball Classic.
Don’t miss the opportunity.

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