Dogs Blank RailCats, RedHawks Rally, Big Inning Propels Saltdogs
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, Rob Pannier recaps the five games in the American Association on Thursday, including the Lincoln Saltdogs using a big inning to defeat the Cleburne Railroaders, the Milwaukee Milkmen hold off the Kane County Cougars, and the Kansas City Monarchs clinch the West Division title.
Game Recaps for Thursday
Seven-Run Second Propels Saltdogs
The Lincoln Saltdogs scored seven runs in the second inning, then held on for a 9-6 victory over the Cleburne Railroaders. David Holmberg earned the victory despite giving up five runs in 5.2 innings. Wyatt Sparks tossed the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
This was all Lincoln early. The Saltdogs scored one in the first then exploded in the second, sending 13 batters to the plate. Luis Roman hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0 and two bases loaded singles, a walk, and a hit by pitch drove home four more runs. Nate Samson closed the scoring in the frame with a two-run single. The Railroaders were getting smoked, but finally got on the board in the fifth when Jose Sermo hit a two-run homer. An inning later it was Hill Alexander with the big blow, drilling a three-run blast. Lincoln added a run in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI single by Samson. Bret Boswell then hit a solo homer in the eighth to pull the Railroaders within three, but the Saltdogs bullpen was able to close out the contest from there.
Samson finished with three hits and three RBI and Drew Devine had two hits and scored twice. Sermo had two hits and two RBI and Boswell had two hits and scored twice for Cleburne.
Faith, Dogs Blank RailCats
Austin Faith tossed five scoreless innings and two relievers did the rest as the Chicago Dogs blanked the Gary SouthShore RailCats, 8-0. Faith allowed three hits and struck out three to earn his first win of the year. Trevor Lane then tossed three scoreless frames and Jonathan Cheshire tossed scoreless ninth.
The Dogs looked to leave no doubt who would win this contest, scoring four in the first. Nick Heath led off with a homer and Josh Altmann blasted a three-run shot, his 26th of the year. In the third, Luke Mangieri delivered an RBI single and the Dogs added two more in the fifth. For the second time in the contest, Heath led off with a homer and Altmann delivered an RBI single. Chicago scored one more in the eighth on an RBI single by Ryan Lidge.
Heath finished 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Altmann had three hits, scored twice, and drove in four. Payton Eeles had four hits and scored twice. No player for the RailCats had more than one hit.
Milkmen Hold off Cougars
The Milwaukee Milkmen jumped out a four-run advantage, then held on for a 7-6 victory over the Kane County Cougars. The Milkmen had six extra base hits, including two by Bryan Torres. Juan Echevarria earned his fourth victory of the season and Payton Gray came on to earn his ninth save.
Kane County got on the board first when Armond Upshaw hit a two-run homer in the top of the second. Milwaukee responded right away, scoring four in the bottom half of the frame. Rudy Martin tied the score with a two-run double and Aaron Hill put his team on top with an RBI double. Cam Balego made it a two-run advantage with a run scoring single. Kane County cut the deficit to one in the fifth on an RBI double by Cornelius Randolph, but the Milkmen scored three in the sixth to extend their lead to four. Reggie Pruitt had a run scoring triple and he scored on a double by Torres. Torres came home on a single by Roy Morales.
The Cougars were down, but refused to go away, scoring three in the top of the eighth. The first three batters of the frame reached on singles and Olivier Basabe followed with a two run double. A wild pitch made it 7-6, but Nate Hadley got the final two outs of the inning and Gray retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the victory.
Monarchs Clinch Division Title
Brandon Finnegan allowed one run in seven innings, leading the Kansas City Monarchs to a 6-2 victory over the Sioux City Explorers. Finnegan struck out seven to earn his seventh victory of the year and Odubel Herrera scored three runs. The victory clinched the West Division title for the Monarchs.
Kansas City scored runs in each of the first two innings. Brian O’Grady had a sacrifice fly in the first and Justin Wylie delivered a run scoring single in the second. The Explorers cut the deficit to one in the third on an Rbi single by Scott Ota, but the Monarchs restored the two-run advantage in the fifth thanks to an error. In the seventh, the Monarchs looked like they had put this game away, scoring three runs off just one hit. A bases loaded walk, single, and sacrifice fly brought home the runs. In the eighth, Finnegan came out and Sioux City responded with three straight singles, scoring a run. They loaded the bases on a walk and had just two down, but a foul out and ground out ended the threat.
RedHawks Rally to Down DockHounds
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks erased a one-run deficit, scoring the final four runs of the game to defeat the Lake Country DockHounds, 5-2. Colten Davis continues to impress, allowing two runs in seven innings for his seventh win of the year. Ben Holmes earned the save in just his second appearance for the team.
The RedHawks took a one-run lead in the first. Lake Country tied the score in the second on an RBI single by Marek Chlup and jumped out in front two innings later on an RBI ground out. Fargo-Moorhead immediately tied the score in the bottom half of the inning when Leobaldo Pina drew a bases loaded walk. The team had the bases loaded with one out, but Manuel Boscan lined into a double-play to end the threat. In the sixth, the RedHawks took the lead for good on an error and added two more in the seventh on a two-run homer by Pina, his 17th of the season.
Pina finished with two hits and four RBI. Dillon Thomas reached base four times and scored twice.
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Colten Davis (Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
No. 2 – Brandon Finnegan (Kansas City Monarchs) 7.0 IP, 9 H, ER, 0 BB, 7 K
No. 1 – Nick Heath (Chicago Dogs) 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 HR, Double
American Association Daily Notes
The Kansas City Monarchs clinched the West Division regular season title on Thursday. It is the third straight regular season division title for the team… Chicago Dogs shortstop tied for the league lead in homeruns (26) and took over the RBI lead (87) on Thursday… Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks right-hander Colten Davis is a perfect 7-0.
Transactions
Kansas City: Activated OF Jacob Robson from the Injured List; Placed INF Cam Cannon on the Injured List retroactive to August 27
Sioux City: Activated RHP Heitor Tokar from the Injured List; Placed RHP Solomon Bates on the Injured List retroactive to August 30
American Association Articles on Minor League Sports Report
Sioux Falls Canaries RHP Seth Miller American Association Pitcher of the Week
Sioux Falls Canaries 1B Mike Hart Named American Association Player of the Week
By Robert Pannier
