Sun Devils’ bullpen struggles in heartbreaking loss to Minnesota

(Photo: Austin Hurst/WCSN)

PHOENIX — With two out and two strikes on Minnesota senior outfielder Parker Knoll in the bottom of the ninth, junior right-handed pitcher Lukas Kelly had the opportunity to seize the moment and give Arizona State baseball a victory. Instead, he gave up a game-tying triple.

The bullpen faltered for its second consecutive Friday series opener with a collective collapse as ASU (7-3) lost 7-6 to Minnesota (3-4). All but one pitcher who came out of the ASU ‘pen was charged with a run except the aforementioned Kelly.

“We’re gonna be in a lot more of those type of games,” ASU manager Willie Bloomquist said. “Tonight stings a bit.”

ASU junior lefty Ben Jacobs started the game and was able to go six innings, something Jacobs did for the first time this year. At the time, Jacobs was in line for the loss, which would have been his second of the season.

“Our rotation is awesome,” junior reliever Sean Fitzpatrick said. “You can’t ask for anything better.”

First to come in for Jacobs was sophomore right-hander Josh Butler, who most recently worked last Saturday, Feb. 22, where he pitched three innings of shutout baseball. Butler went 1.1 innings on Friday and began his outing walking and hitting a batter.

Butler regrouped and got a double play but then allowed a single to Knoll that scored a run. He then finished the seventh and recorded an out to start the eighth before his day was over.

Fitzpatrick appeared in his third consecutive game for ASU. Fitzpatrick had not given up a run since his disastrous opening-day appearance allowing three runs in a third of an inning.

“I’m ready whenever they need me,” Fitzpatrick said. “We got, I don’t know, 20 dudes in the bullpen that can get the job done.”

Fitzpatrick kept the eighth inning scoreless. Bloomquist left Fitzpatrick out for a lefty-on-lefty matchup, and he surrendered a ground-rule double to sophomore outfielder Brayden Hellum before being pulled for Kelly.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in (Fitzpatrick),” Bloomquist said. “He’s done a great job so far.”

Lucas Kelly had not allowed an earned run all year but he allowed two inherited runners to score in Arizona State’s season opener against Ohio State. He continued that trend, as he allowed Fitzpatrick’s inherited runner to score.

“Lucas was already hot.” Bloomquist said. “I didn’t want to burn him without using him.”

In extras, it was right-handed redshirt senior Jonah Giblin who faltered. Giblin, who pitched a solid scoreless two innings in a loss to UCLA last tuesday, has been iffy on the year. This season he has alternated games when he has given up runs or not.

In the ballgame, Giblin allowed only one hit, it was a senior outfielder Josh Fitzgerald’s home run that gave Minnesota the lead and eventually the win. Giblin has now given up two homers, both in losses.

Notably, senior righty Will Koger did not pitch. Last Friday, Koger had a ninth-inning collapse of his own against Oral Roberts giving up three runs in the ninth in a game ASU lost by one. Like Kelly in this game, Koger also had an opportunity to seize the moment with a batter with strikes and two outs and failed to do so.

Koger pitched in the most recent game on Wednesday as part of a combined shutout at UCLA; he went a third of an inning, allowing a hit and a walk in the ninth before being pulled for Fitzpatrick, who saved the game.

The Sun Devils used four relievers who allowed three runs in four innings. In close games like this one, it was proven to be costly, especially after Jacobs went six innings.

“When you know you’re gonna get five or six out of them, it makes our job in the bullpen easy,” Fitzpatrick said.

On Friday, the bullpen failed to complete an easy job.