Injured Wingnuts finally get some home rest

Three days at home will at least give the Wingnuts time to recover.

And it won’t just be the minds that are healing. The Wingnuts finished their 14-game road trip, which coincided with the National Baseball Congress World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, with 19 players.

Several injuries forced the Wingnuts to use pitcher Garrett Gould in the lineup for the final two games in Winnipeg, Canada. Gould had four hits, but Wichita would have preferred a position player in that spot.

Injured outfielder Brent Clevlen is due back on Tuesday, when the Wingnuts open a three-game home series against Kansas City before six more on the road. Third baseman Zack Cox and outfielder Harrison Kain may not be far behind Clevlen in their returns to the lineup.

“The guys never quit,” Wingnuts manager Pete Rose Jr. said. “They never doubt themselves. It doesn’t matter if they’re undermanned or they’re down by six, they just find a way to get it done. There’s no sense of panic or urgency in the sense of being undermanned. The bullpen really picked the slack up.”

The first-place Wingnuts went 8-6 on the trip against Laredo, Lincoln, Fargo and Winnipeg and own a 6 1/2-game lead over Laredo in the American Association South with 21 games to play.

Injuries weren’t all the Wingnuts had to overcome on the road. Pitcher Anthony Capra returned to the rotation but walked eight in 1 2/3 innings in a loss to Winnipeg on Friday. Outfielder Richard Prigatano broke out of a 2-for-55 slump with five hits over the last two games.

The offense has been stabilized by Matt Chavez, who is batting .350 with 10 home runs and has produced consistently since returning from his own injury last month.

“Everybody stepped up,” Rose said. “It was a great road trip. It was a long one. Once again I’m going to get all over the schedule-makers in this league, because it’s totally unfair that we get to come home for three days and then go back on the road for another six-day trip.

“If there’s any team that’s built to be able to do this, it’s these guys. It doesn’t matter if they’re tired or it’s hot or it’s cold or if they’ve had enough rest, they just go out and play. It’s really impressive, and I’m just lucky to be a part of it.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 7:47 AM with the headline "Injured Wingnuts finally get some home rest."