Dogs Drop Season Finale in Chicago, 13-8
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Gustavo Pierre homered as part of a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, but the Chicago Dogs could not overcome a seventh inning outburst as they dropped the season finale to the St. Paul Saints, 13-8.
Justin Goossen-Brown fared well in his third start of the season, allowing two earned runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three over four innings of work.
The Saints opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when John Silviano mashed a two-run homer.
The Dogs responded in a big way, scoring four in the bottom half of the first. With Jordan Dean at the dish, a wild pitch allowed Brett Milazzo to score and get Chicago on the board. Two pitches later, Dean ripped a two-run double to take the lead.
On the next at-bat, Pierre reached on an error that sent Dean home, putting the Dogs ahead 4-2 after one.
Goossen-Brown continued on with three more scoreless frames, including escaping a bases-loaded no-out jam in the third to maintain the lead
With Luke Wilkins on the mound, Silviano’s second homer knotted the game at four in the top of the fifth. The Australia native would rebound by escaping a bases-loaded jam of his own in the top of the sixth, keeping the game tied.
St. Paul broke the game open with a seven-run top of the seventh, drawing six walks off of Ben Allison and Jalen Miller to take a 7-4 lead. With Harrison Smith on the mound, the Saints tacked on four more runs off of a Dan Motl sacrifice fly and a Michael Lang three-run homer.
Pierre responded with a two-run blast, his seventh of the year, to make it an 11-6 game. Later in the frame, back-to-back RBI singles by Milazzo and Edwin Arroyo brought the Dogs within four.
The Saints added two more runs over the final two frames to complete their offensive production.
The Dogs finish the 2019 season with a 59-41 record, the third-best mark in the American Association.
Fans can follow the team on social media — @TheChicagoDogs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — and use the hashtag #TakeABite. For more information, visit TheChicagoDogs.com.
by Sam Brief
