Ducks score 17 runs, complete sweep over Bears
Newark Bears pitchers Shawn Chacon and reliever Armando Benitez were tagged for a combined 10 runs in a 17-6 Long Island Ducks win at Citibank Park Sunday. The Ducks (26-23) swept a three-game set from the Bears (25-23) and have won four in a row. Chacon, 11 days from the one-year anniversary of his release from the Astros after he shoved general manager Ed Wade, was knocked out after two innings. He allowed six runs, seven hits and two walks. "He didn't really have it coming out of the bullpen. He told me before the start he didn't feel too well," Bears manager Tim Raines Sr. said. Chacon left before the game ended. Chacon, 31, went 7-3 for the Yankees in 2005 after they acquired him in a midseason trade. He was shipped out the next year. Though he entered Sunday in the top 10 in ERA in the Atlantic League, Chacon's scuffle could make latching on elsewhere difficult. "I don't think you're going to do that type of thing and think nobody's going to notice it," Raines said. "I'm pretty sure he would rather have that back." Benitez, the fourth of five Newark relievers, pitched the seventh and was knocked around for four runs and four hits. Alex Prieto, who went 3-for-4, drilled a three-run homer to left that made the score 17-6. Benitez, 36, closed for the Mets from 1999 to 2003. "I need work every five days. [I was asked] if I needed work, I said I'll throw a little bit," said Benitez, who's given up 11 runs in 122/3 innings. "Everybody has bad days; it's not a big surprise." Every Ducks hitter reached based multiple times and six batters had multiple RBIs. Ahead 8-3 in the fifth with two runs already across, Ducks leftfielder Estee Harris pulled a 3-and-1 inside fastball from Bears reliever Cory Willey out to right for a grand slam. "Sometimes teams take players for granted and don't think that they're able to hit home runs," Ducks manager Gary Carter said. "Nineteen hits in a game, that's saying something about the lineup." Harris, 2-for-3 with five RBIs, has hit both of the Ducks' grand slams this season. He and Prieto are tied for second on the team with five homers. Notes & quotes: Ducks outfielder Preston Wilson (broken nose) likely won't return until after the All-Star Game next week, Carter said.
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