Big Innings Batter Dogs in RedHawks 17-5 Victory
By Jack Ankony, Chicago Dogs
Putting up a crooked number is the goal many teams strive for at the plate each inning. Do 10 runs count as a crooked number?
Either way, a 10-run fifth inning from Fargo-Moorhead was the difference in tonight’s 17-5 loss from the Dogs. And just to salt the Dogs’ wounds, the RedHawks added seven runs in the eighth inning.
An optimist might tell you that if you forget these two innings, the Dogs leave the field with a 5-0 win, but that’s not how baseball works. Two disastrous innings were the difference in game two of a three-game set between the Dogs and RedHawks.
Jordan Kipper was pulled after allowing five runs through 3.1 innings, and two more runs were credited to Kipper as Scott Firth tried to work out of the jam. But things weren’t always looking as bleak for Kipper tonight. The 6-foot-4-inch starter allowed just one hit through three innings while striking out three batters.
And after Firth managed to wiggle out of the fifth inning, the Dogs bullpen showed bright spots, as well. Jeff Kinley and Juan Echevarria tossed scoreless innings, and the Dogs offense produced five runs in the fifth to keep things respectable.
But things took a sharp turn again in the eighth inning when Fargo-Moorhead scored six runs off Dogs closer Paul Schwendel and one run off Justin Goossen-Brown. All in all, it was a night for the Dogs pitching staff to flush and begin to think about tomorrow.
In a normal game, a five-run effort from the Dogs lineup might be enough to win, but tonight was anything but normal. Brennan Metzger continued his hitting streak tonight, going 1-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs and walking twice.
Danny Mars, K.C. Hobson and Ryan Lidge drove in the rest of the runs for the Dogs in a fifth inning that gave slight hope to another Dogs comeback. A 2-for-4 night for Lidge maintained his blazing-hot start to the season and increased his league-high batting average to .462.
The Dogs will look to avoid a series sweep against Fargo-Moorhead tomorrow night at 7:02 when Garrett Christman takes the mound against Bret Helton. The Dogs won the first two series of the season against Kane County and Winnipeg, but will have to salvage a win tomorrow to head back to Chicago with a record above .500.
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