Cleburne 7, Lincoln 6 – Box Score
Randy Norris became only the second player in franchise history with two triples, but the ‘Dogs allowed five unanswered runs in a 7-6 loss to the Cleburne Railroaders at The Depot on Thursday night.
Norris hit triples in each of the first two innings, but after taking a 6-2 lead in the 2nd inning, the Railroaders rallied with three in the 3rd and two in the 5th to win a fifth straight game.
Norris had Lincoln’s second two-triple game, and first since Evan Tartaglia hit two against St. Paul on July 24, 2006.
Cleburne (20-33) opened the scoring on a pair of solo homers from Chuck Taylor and Chase Simpson in the 1st inning.
Lincoln (26-26) scored six times in the 2nd. Matt Goodheart drove in Welington Dotel after Dotel’s leadoff double extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Drew DeVine reached on an error by the shortstop to tie the game at two. Norris then cleared the bases with another triple after he led off the game with one, and Patrick Caulfield then singled in Norris to give the ‘Dogs a 6-2 lead.
Kacy Clemens hit a three-run homer in the 3rd inning to make it 6-5, and Simpson’s second homer of the game – a two-run homer off the foul pole in right field – gave Cleburne the lead for good.
Zach Keenan allowed five runs in 3 and 2/3 innings – his shortest start as a professional. Tucker Smith took the loss after allowing two runs in the 2 and 1/3 relief innings. Jesse Stallings pitched a scoreless 7th and Jonathan Cheshire tossed a scoreless 8th.
Milwaukee 2, Kane County 0 – Box Score
The Milwaukee Milkmen traveled to Kane County after a three day break due to the American Association All Star Game and shut out the Cougars.
Starting pitcher Christian Young pitched five innings of the game, the most all season for him.
Young tossed six strikeouts and only handed out one walk and one hit in his innings of work, including a stretch where he retired 12 consecutive batters.
In the top of the sixth inning the Milkmen scored their only two runs of the game. Keon Barnum and Correlle Prime both advanced to scoring position off of a Will Kengor single and Dylan Kelly then sent Barnum and Prime home off of a long double.
New Milkmen pitcher Kyle Huckaby replaced Young in the sixth before Frankie Bartow took over after him. Juan Echevarria then pitched the eighth inning and loaded the bases with one out left in the inning. Echevarria was able to keep his cool and forced a groundout in the next at bat to keep the shutout alive and the Milkmen lead at two.
Rodrigo Benoit then pitched the ninth inning for Milwaukee and retired three consecutive batters to seal the game 2-0 for the Milkmen.
Kansas City 3, Lake Country 2 – Box Score
Casey Gillaspie was the hero for the KC Monarchs (35-18). He delivered a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth as Kansas City defeated the Lake Country DockHounds (19-35) 3-2 Thursday night at Legends Field.
After a short stint with the San Francisco Giants organization, the left-handed ace, Matt Hall, returned to the Kansas City Monarchs. He picked up right where he left off, striking out Lamar Briggs and Gio Brusa in the top half of the first inning.
The Monarchs took an early lead in the bottom of the first. Darnell Sweeney led off the game with a solo shot to right field to give Kansas City an early 1-0 lead.
Hall started to find his groove in the second and third inning, striking out four DockHounds without allowing a run. After two innings of play, the Monarchs still led 1-0 over the DockHounds.
The Monarchs extended their lead in the third inning. Chad De La Guerra reached base with a leadoff walk. Jan Hernandez stepped up to the plate and roped a double down the left field line. Matt Adams brought in De La Guerra with a sacrifice fly to right field. After three innings of baseball, the Monarchs led 2-0.
Hall had an incredible return to Kansas City. He finished his night throwing six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing just one walk.
The DockHounds cut Kansas City’s lead in half as Tristen Carranza hit a solo shot over the home run patio in left field. After seven innings of play, the Monarchs led over the DockHounds 2-1.
Both teams were scoreless in the eighth. However, the DockHounds made some noise in the top of the ninth when Briggs singled to left field, scoring Efrain Contreras and tying the game 2-2.
Entering the bottom of the ninth, David Thompson hit a single up the middle. Casey Gillaspie stepped up to the plate and belted a line drive on a hit and run to score Thompson and win the game for the Monarchs in a wonderful walk off.
Fargo-Moorhead 3, Chicago 2 – Box Score
A pitcher’s duel debuted a four game set amongst the American Association’s top two squads, where the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (37-16) took down the Chicago Dogs (35-18), 3-2.
RedHawks starter Davis Feldman was strong throughout the game, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing two runs and striking out 10. Chicago ace Jordan Kipper mostly kept pace, but allowed that critical third run off of a Manny Boscan home run.
Boscan carried Fargo-Moorhead’s offense with a 3-for-3 performance that included the long ball. Designated hitter Nick Novak provided a spark with his RBI triple in the fourth to tie the game and eventually come home for the lead.
The Dogs bullpen kept them in the game, notably with lefty Kevin Marnon striking out the side in the eighth. Unfortunately for Chicago, Fargo-Moorhead matched the energy and did not let the Dogs sniff home plate.
Sioux Falls 7, Sioux City 4 – Box Score
In the first of a three-game battle for Sioux, the Sioux Falls Canaries (22-31) kept their hot streak going with a 7-4 win over the Sioux City Explorers (21-31). Canaries third baseman Gavin LaValley reigned terror with a 2-for-4 day that included a home run and four total RBI.
Catcher Shamoy Christopher tacked on a solo home run as well, his fourth of the year. Seven different Canaries picked up hits to keep passing the bat and cause a headache for Sioux City. Explorers starter Kevin McCanna lasted 4.1 innings and allowed five total runs off of seven hits and three walks.
Sioux Falls starter Ty Culbreth was not spectacular, but did enough to get the win. The lefty allowed four runs in five innings and only recorded one strikeout in the start. The Canaries bullpen had his back and did not allow a hit for the remaining four frames, while punching out eight.
The win pushed Sioux Falls out of the gutter of the Western division and into fourth place. The Explorers move to last and will try to salvage the series to ensure that is only temporary.
Winnipeg 11, Gary SouthShore 9 – Box Score
The Gary SouthShore RailCats (21-33) again scored nine or more runs, and again came out with the short end of the stick. This time, it was at the hands of the Winnipeg Goldeyes (29-24), 12-9.
It was a slugfest for Winnipeg, who saw six players record multi-hit games. All-Star right fielder Max Murphy brought his dominance into the second half of the season with a 3-for-4 day that included two home runs and three total RBI. Designated hitter Logan Hill got in on the fun with two home runs of his own to give him four RBI.
Gary SouthShore got off to a 7-0 lead after three innings, capped off by a grand slam from first baseman Sam Abbott. A seven run rally in the third by Winnipeg made all that momentum disappear, however, and the Goldeyes never stopped.
Neither starter lasted more than three innings and both allowed seven total runs, which made the game a battle of the bullpen. In the fourth inning, Gary reliever Josh Vincent got jumped on for a three-run home run by Hill. Through the remaining six innings of baseball, Winnipeg’s bullpen allowed two runs to Gary’s four. That ultimately proved to be the difference maker and the RailCats dropped their sixth straight.