St. Paul 6, Fargo-Moorhead 0
Saints LHP Cole Nelson (pictured) baffled Fargo-Moorhead en route to a 6-0 St. Paul victory. Nelson pitched a complete game shutout against the RedHawks, striking out eight and walking one. The southpaw was rewarded by offensive support from the bottom third of his lineup. Jose Hernandez, Adam Frost and Dwight Childs went a combined 5-for-10 with four RBI.
Nelson improved his record to 2-1, but he also extended an impressive scoreless innings streak. The left-hander has not given up a run in 18 consecutive innings, dating back to his June 1st start against Quebec. That streak has helped Nelson earn the second best ERA in the American Association at 1.78. Only Wichita’s Jon Link has faired better, at 1.69.
Sioux City 8, Kansas City 2
A big night at the plate by Explorers 3B Bryan Pounds helped lead Sioux City to an 8-2 win over Kansas City. Pounds drove in four runs for the X’s on a couple of bases-clearing extra-base hits. In the fifth, Pounds drove in Yusuke Inoguchi and Sam Judah with a double. Two innings later, he roped a triple that scored Judah and Peter Barrows. Pounds also walked and scored twice for the X’s in the win. His offensive performance helped LHP Richard Salazar notch his second win of the season. Salazar allowed just one run on four hits through 6.2 innings of work.
Amarillo 14, El Paso 3
The Sox rode an explosive 11-run seventh inning to a 14-3 victory over El Paso. Amarillo was tied with the Diablos, 2-2, when the Sox struck for 11 runs on nine hits to break the tie and blow the game open. Amarillo CF Jason Martin accounted for five runs in the seventh. He singled, doubled, drove in three runs and scored twice in that inning alone. In total, Martin finished 3-for-5 with two doubles. David Peralta and Brandon Jones also contributed three hits each in the ball game.
Lost in the offensive shuffle, RHP Kristhiam Linares earned his first win of the season. He held the Diablos to two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings of work. Linares struck out one and walked one in the winning effort.
Quebec vs. Gary SouthShore (Rained Out)
The game between the Quebec Capitales and the Gary SouthShore RailCats was cancelled due to rain. The clubs will not meet again this season, so the game will not be rescheduled.
Photo Courtesy of Emily Robertson/St. Paul Saints
