Report by the Armada’s Josh Feldman

If Hideki Irabu and Jose Lima keep pitching like this, the Armada will sail right into first place.  After Lima got the shut out last night, Irabu pitched five innings and the Armada overcame a handful of fielding errors to hang on for a 6-5 win over the Scorpions in Yuma at Desert Sun Stadium on Friday. Long Beach improved to 7-5 on the year while Yuma fell to 3-9.

Irabu (1-0) gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking two. The Armada committed a season-high five errors, but early offense kept Long Beach ahead late in the game.

Yuma took a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Matt Edgecombe singled home Daryl Jones in the second inning to cut into the Yuma lead, 2-1. One inning later, Yuma starter Julio Santiago (0-1) walked two batters before Casey Garrison blasted a 3-run homerun (3) that put Long Beach up, 4-2. Three batters later, Edgecome, a rookie, knocked his first professional homerun to put the Fleet ahead, 6-2. Santiago took the loss in his first start of the year.

The Scorpions tacked on two runs in the fourth inning off Irabu, cutting the Armada lead to 6-4.

Ben Fox, who is the regular No. 2 in the Armada starting rotation, backed up Irabu and pitched the final four innings, striking out five Scorpions to earn his first save since 2004. Fox got into a jam in the ninth inning after getting the first out. He gave up three straight hits that allowed the Scorpions to trim the lead to 6-5. With the tying run on second and the winning run on first base, Fox locked down Yuma, retiring the final two batters to preserve the win.

Long Beach and Yuma finish this three game series on Saturday at Desert Sun Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.