Murphy Homers Three Times, Minier Dominates, Snyder Leads Explorers
Featured Image Courtesy of Jennifer Andreachi, Field Dreams Photography
American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, Robert Pannier recaps the seven games in the American Association on Saturday, including the Winnipeg Goldeyes and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks splitting a double-header, Greg Minier and Matt Cronin combine to toss the shutout for the Lincoln Saltdogs, and the Chicago Dogs edge the Gary SouthShore RailCats. This, plus much more.
Game Recaps for Saturday
Minier, Cronin Blank Railroaders
Greg Minier tossed seven shutout innings and Matt Cronin finished off the shutout with two scoreless frames, as the Lincoln Saltdogs defeated the Cleburne Railroaders, 3-0. Minier allowed four hits and two walks while striking out nine, however, he earned a no decision.
This was a scoreless tie thanks to five shutout innings from Josh Lucas and scoreless frames from Kody Bullard and Danny Zardon. However, the Saltdogs finally got on the board against Austin Fairchild in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Altmann put Lincoln on top with a sacrifice fly and Luke Roskam and Skyler Weber each delivered RBI singles.
Cronin allowed one hit into innings to earn his third victory of the season. Drew Devine had two hits for the Saltdogs. Edwin Arroyo and Chase Simpson each had two hits for Cleburne.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Snyder Homers Twice to Lead Explorers Past DockHounds
The Sioux City Explorers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, then hung on for a 13-9 victory over the Lake Country DockHounds. Sioux City scored five in the third and fourth innings. Danry Vasquez got things going with a two-run single in the top of the third, and Gabe Snyder later drilled a three-run homer, his first of two homeruns on the night. In the fourth, Trey Martin added a two run double and Snyder capped off the scoring with a two-run shot. He finished with five RBI.
Lake Country responded with six runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Jordan Schaffer had a two run double in the frame. The Explorers scored single runs from the fifth through the seventh innings to extend their lead to seven, but Lake Country battled back with a run in the seventh and two in the ninth to pull within four before Brandon Brosher was finally able to record the final out.
Snyder finished 2-5 with two homers and five RBI. Vasquez scored two runs and drove in two and Blake Tiberi and Jack Kelly each scored two runs and had two hits. Gabriel Noriega and Jake Snider each had three hits, scored two runs, and drove in a run for the DockHounds.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Connor Ryan
Monarchs Down Canaries in Extra-Innings
The Kansas City Monarchs scored two runs in the top of the 10th to down the Sioux Falls Canaries, 3-1. This was a fantastic pitching battle between Brock Gilliam and Neil Lang, as neither team could get on the board through the first five innings.
Kansas City finally scored in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Pete Kozma. The Canaries looked like they were going to be shutout, but rallied for a run in the ninth against Monarchs closer Jameson McGrane thanks to an RBI single by Angelo Altavilla. That sent the game to the 10th where Mallex Smith scored on a balk to put the Monarchs on top for good. A wild pitch extended the lead to two. Brian Glowicki recorded the final out for his first save of the season.
Jan Hernandez had two hits for Kansas City. Wyatt Ulrich had two hits for Sioux Falls.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Dan Vaughan, Jr.
Kinley Tames RailCats
Jeff Kinley struck out 11, allowing one run in six innings to lead the Chicago Dogs to a 6-2 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats. The outing was the sixth straight by the left-hander where he allowed two runs or fewer and he has now allowed eight earned runs over his last 44.0 innings (1.64 ERA).
Chicago jumped out in front thanks to six unanswered runs through the first five frames. The Dogs took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer by Connor Kopach, his 12th of the year. In the fourth, Grant Kay added an RBI triple and K. C. Hobson added a two run double in the fifth. The RailCats scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings.
Charlie Tilson had three hits and Hobson had two hits and two RBI for the Dogs. Michael Woodworth had three hits for Gary SouthShore.
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Muir Remains Undefeated, Cougars Win
Westin Muir moved his record to 7-0, allowing two runs in five innings as the Kane County Cougars defeated the Milwaukee Milkmen, 6-2. Milwaukee took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third, but Kane County responded with five runs in the top of the fourth. Galli Cribbs had an RBI single and Ernie De La Trinidad followed with a two run single to put the Cougars on top. A wild pitch brought home Cribbs and De La Trinidad scored on a Cornelius Randolph single.
That was more than enough support for Muir who left after five. Keith Rogalla and Michael Morin each tossed two scoreless frames to finish off the game. Myles Smith took the loss for Milwaukee.
Josh Rolette had three hits for the Cougars and Cribbs recorded two. Bryan Torres had two hits for Milwaukee.
Goldeyes-RedHawks Split Double-Header
Max Murphy homered three times in the first contest of a double-header with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, as the Winnipeg Goldeyes earned a split. In the opener, Winnipeg used four big innings to down the RedHawks, scoring four in the second and fourth innings and three in the sixth and seventh frames to earn a 14-7 victory.
Raul Navarro and Ian Sagdal each drove in a pair of runs in the second and Murphy drilled a three-run homer in the fourth. In the sixth, Murphy hit his second homerun of the day and added a three-run shot in the seventh. The outfielder finished with three home runs and seven RBI. Sagdal also drove in three and Navarro scored three times.
In the second contest, the RedHawks scored two in the first and six in the second on their way to a 9-3 victory. Drew Ward and Leobaldo Pina each drove in a run in the first and Fargo-Moorhead blew this game open in the second, thanks to six runs on just three hits. Manuel Boscan drove home a run with a fielder’s choice and Pina drove home his second run of the game with a bases-loaded walk. John Silviano followed with a grand slam, his 20th homerun of the season.
Peyton Wigginton earned the victory, allowing three runs in six innings. Boscan finished with three hits and two runs scored and Ward had two hits and scored twice. Navarro had two hits and two RBI for the Goldeyes.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Gabe Snyder (Sioux City Explorers) 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI
No. 2 – Greg Minier (Lincoln Saltdogs) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 9 K
No. 1 – Max Murphy (Winnipeg Goldeyes) Game 1: 3-5, 3 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI
American Association Daily Notes
The Winnipeg Goldeyes and Milwaukee Milkmen each clinched a playoff spot on Saturday. Winnipeg is the third team in the West Division to earn a berth, joining the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and Kansas City Monarchs. The Milkmen join the Chicago Dogs in the East… Winnipeg Goldeyes OF Max Murphy recorded his seventh two-homer game of the season on Saturday. Murphy hit three homeruns in Game 1 of the double-header against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Murphy also tied it teammate David Washington for the league lead in homeruns with 29… Kane County Cougars RHP Westin Muir extended his winning streak to seven straight games. That is the longest in the league this year.
Transactions
Chicago: Released RHP Justin Goossen-Brown; Traded OF Michael Crouse to Winnipeg for OF Eric Rivera
Cleburne: Signed RHP Jalen Evans
Gary SouthShore: Activated RHP Ryan Campbell from the Injured List; Placed LHP Jaylen Smith on the Injured List retroactive to August 20
Kane County: Signed INF Mitch Nay
Lincoln: Signed INF Nate Samson; Placed INF Nate Samson on the Injured List retroactive to August 26
Milwaukee: Removed INF Correlle Prime from the Injured List and placed him on the Inactive List retroactive to August 6
By Robert Pannier
