By Jack Ankony, The Chicago Dogs

For the second time this season, the Dogs lost at Newman Outdoor Field to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks by a score of 17-5.

Jordan Kipper took the mound for the Dogs and had been cruising during his last two starts, but Tuesday was a different story. Kipper gave up just four earned runs in 16.2 previous innings of action, but allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits in just 1.1 innings of work on Tuesday.

It was a night to forget on the mound for most of the Dogs staff as Justin Goossen-Brown and Max Foody each gave up three earned runs while Juan Echevarria was credited with two. J.C. Llaser and Greg Harris each tossed shutout frames, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early damage from the RedHawks.

Perhaps the biggest positive coming from Tuesday’s defeat was the continued emergence of Anfernee Grier. Grier started in right field tonight and was the only player in either dugout to record a perfect night at the plate. Grier finished 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and a run scored.

He was moved up to second in the batting order, swapping spots with left fielder Brennan Metzger. Grier’s home run in the eighth inning was his third long ball of the year. His 5-for-5 effort also propelled his batting average to .301, which is the first time it has reached above .300 all year.

Grier now has nine hits over the last four games and is continuing to prove he is more than just a speedy base runner and a stellar defensive outfielder. With Grier, Metzger, Michael Crouse and Danny Mars, the Dogs have four outfielders that are more than deserving of starts each night, which can be a good problem to have.

Metzger laid out for a ball last night, Grier made SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays last week with a diving catch in right and Mars crashed against the wall for an impressive catch last week, but Tuesday was Crouse’s turn for a highlight-reel catch. Crouse sprinted to left centerfield and made a full-extension catch to rob the RedHawks of a base hit.

Though the Dogs lost by 12 runs on Tuesday, they didn’t come up short in generating opportunities. The Dogs recorded 14 hits, and five batters finished with multi-hit games. But leaving 13 runners on base is rarely a recipe for victory, as the Dogs lost their second game in a row to Fargo Moorhead.

The Dogs will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow at 7:02 p.m. CT.