Dogs, Goldeyes Complete Sweeps, Monarchs Rally, Saltdogs-DockHounds Split Double-Header
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 Lincoln Saltdogs in the Lake Country DockHounds splitting a double-header, the Winnipeg Goldeyes blank the Gary SouthShore RailCats and the Chicago dogs complete their sweep of the Cleburne Railroaders. This and much more.
Tilson Leads Dogs to Victory
Charlie Tilson homered and drove in three as the Chicago Dogs defeated the Cleburne Railroaders, 7-5. That completed a three-game sweep for the Dogs, who now have the top record in the American Association.
Chicago opened with three twos, scoring a pair of runs in the first, second, and fourth innings. Ryan Lidge got things going with a two-run homer in the first, his eighth of the season, and Tilson hit a two-run shot in the second, his third of the year. In the fourth, a sacrifice fly by Harrison Smith and an RBI single by Tilson extended the lead to 6-1.
That was more than enough support for A.J. Kullman, who allowed three runs in 6.2 innings. Tilson finished 3-5 with a run and three RBI. Lidge had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two. Chase Simpson and Hector Sanchez each homered for the Railroaders.
Chicago Dogs Recap by Matthew Barthelemy
Saltdogs-DockHounds Split Double-Header
Gio Brusa drove home Daniel Martins-Molinari with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Lake Country DockHounds a split of their double-header with the Lincoln Saltdogs. Lake Country took a two-run lead, scoring single runs in the first and third innings, only to see Lincoln battle back with two in the top of the fourth to tie the score.
The DockHounds responded right away in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run single by Jordan Schaffer. That lead held until the seventh when Ryan Long tied the score with a two-run homer. An inning later, the Saltdogs took their first lead of the contest, but Lake Country tied the score in the bottom half of the inning. That sent the game to the ninth where Efrain Contreras was hit by a pitch to put two on with no one out. After a sacrifice bunt, Brusa lined a base hit to give the DockHounds the walkoff victory.
Robert Gonzalez earned the win, tossing a scoreless innings of relief. Schaffer and Brusa both had two hits and two RBI. Skyler Weber and Long each drove in two for Lincoln.
The first contest was the continuation of a suspended game from Saturday evening. Greg Minier had started for Lincoln, tossing three scoreless innings before the rains ended his evening. Tucker Smith came on and was rocked for seven runs in two innings.
That gave the DockHounds a 7-1 lead, but Lincoln battled back with a run in the seventh, two in the eighth, and then added four in the ninth to earn the victory. Randy Norris had a two run double in the eighth, cutting the deficit to three. An inning later, Patrick Caulfield turned on an 0-1 pitch, drilling a grand slam for his second homerun of the year.
Matt Cronin earned the victory. Caulfield scored two runs and drove in four. Brusa had two hits, including his 14 homer of the year.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Explorers Steal Seven in Win over Milkmen
The Sioux City Explorers stole seven bases to help lead them to a 7-6 come from behind victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen on Sunday. This game was tied at two heading to the bottom of the fourth when the Milkmen scored a run then added three more in the fifth. Keon Barnum homered in the fourth, his second homerun of the day.
Christian Young was dominating for Milwaukee, allowing two runs in 6.0 innings. However, he came out in the seventh and Sioux City rallied. The Explorer scored two in the top of the seventh on a two-run single by Sebastian Zawada and pulled within one when Nate Samson drove home Trey Martin with a sacrifice fly. In the ninth, Jack Kelly singled home a run to tie the score and Ademar Rifaela gave his team the lead with an RBI ground out.
Thomas McIlraith earned the victory, tossing 2.0 innings of scoreless relief. Danny Amaral had three hits, scored three runs, and stole a base. Martin stole four bases in the contest. Barnum finished 3-4 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Connor Ryan
Martinez Shuts Down RailCats
RJ Martinez tossed six shutout innings as the Winnipeg Goldeyes completed their sweep over the Gary SouthShore RailCats, winning 3-0. Martinez allowed four hits and no walks while striking out five to earn his sixth victory of the season.
The Goldeyes took the lead in the top of the fourth on a pair of bases-loaded walks to Logan Hill and Justin Thompson. Winnipeg extended the lead to three in the fifth on an error. That was more than enough support for Martinez, who got help from three relievers to close out the shutout. Tasker Strobel came on in the ninth to earn his 17th save of the year.
Harrison Francis took the loss despite pitching well. The left-hander allowed two earned runs in 6.0 innings. Jonathan Engelmann had two hits for the RailCats. Ian Sagdal had two hits and scored two runs for Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Kerrigan Homers to Help Lead Cougars Past Canaries
Jimmy Kerrigan hit his league-leading 23rd homerun of the year as the Kane County Cougars held off the Sioux Falls Canaries, 9-8. Kane County took the lead in the top of the second as Josh Rolette hit a solo homerun as part of a three-run inning. After the Cougars scored a run in the top of the fourth, Sioux Falls got two of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning on solo homers by Gavin LaValley and Kona Quiggle.
Kane County added a run in the fifth, then Kerrigan hit a two-run shot in the sixth. That made it 7-2, but Sioux Falls cut in that lead right away, as Quiggle homered in the bottom half of the frame, a three-run shot. The Cougars added two more in the top of the seventh only to see LaValley drive home another run with an RBI double. That sent the game to the ninth where Jabari Henry made this a one run contest with his 22nd homerun of the year. However, Ryan Richardson got the final out to record his third save of the year.
Kerrigan finished 2-4 with two runs and two RBI. Sherman Johnson and Nick Anderson also scored two runs for the Cougars and B.J. Lopez was 3-5 with a run in two RBI. LaValley finished with three hits, scored two runs, and had two RBI. Quiggle was 3-4 with two runs and four RBI.
Nine-Run Seventh Sends Monarchs Past RedHawks
The Kansas City Monarchs had no answers for Derek Feldman through the first six innings, but came alive in the seventh, scoring nine runs to erase a five-run deficit on their way to a 10-7 victory. The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI double by Leobaldo Pina and a two run double by Ben Livorsi. In the second, the lead became five when Peter Maris and Pina each drove in a run.
This look like the RedHawks would easily come away with the victory, but things turned quickly in the seventh as Kansas City sent 14 men to the plate, scoring nine times on seven hits. Chad De La Guerra got things started with a two-run homer and RBI singles by Willie Abreu and Kevin Santa pulled Kansas City within one. Casey Gillaspie and De La Guerra then drew bases-loaded walks to put the Monarchs on top. J.C. Escarra extended the lead to two with an RBI single and Pete Kozma capped off the scoring with a two-run single.
Kansas City added one more run in the top of the eighth and the RedHawks scored two in the bottom half of the frame, but could get no closer. Brock Gilliam earned the victory and Jameson McGrane came on in the ninth to earn his 11th save of the season. Santa, Escarra, and Kozma each had three hits for the Monarchs. Livorsi had two hits for Fargo-Moorhead.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Gabriel Lopez
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Charlie Tilson (Chicago Dogs) 3-5, R, HR, Double, 3 RBI
No. 2 – Keon Barnum (Milwaukee Milkmen) 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB
No. 1 – RJ Martinez (Winnipeg Goldeyes) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 5 K
American Association Daily Notes
The Lake Country DockHounds (7.59) and Gary SouthShore RailCats (7.15) both have ERAs above seven in July… Cleburne Railroaders IF Kacy Clemens saw his hitting streak end at 21 straight games on Sunday. That is the longest streak in the American Association this season…. Chicago Dogs OF Michael Crouse did not play on Sunday. His hitting streak is still at 19 games… Kane County Cougars OF Jimmy Kerrigan hit his 23rd homerun of the season on Sunday. That leads the American Association.
Transactions
Chicago: Removed LHP James Reeves from the Injured List and placed him on the Inactive List retroactive to July 3
Gary SouthShore: Activated LHP Chris Erwin from the Injured List; Placed RHP Ryan Campbell on the Injured List retroactive to July 15
Kansas City: Removed RHP Cam Hill from the Injured List and placed him on the Inactive List retroactive to July 5; Signed RHP Jeremy Rhoades
Lake Country: Transferred the contact of INF Zion Pettigrew to the Washington Nationals; Signed RHP Nick Herold and INF Jordan Schaffer; Released RHP Devin Beckley and LHP Mitch Sparks
Sioux City: Signed C Jack Kelly
Winnipeg: Signed LHP Alex Hart
By Robert Pannier
