Dogs Sweep Goldeyes, RedHawks Rally, Monthly Honorees

Robert Pannier June 2, 2023

Photo Credit: 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 five games in the American Association on Thursday, including the Chicago Dogs sweep the Winnipeg Goldeyes, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks rally to down the Sioux Falls Canaries, and the Sioux City Explorers win in extra innings. Plus, Player and Pitcher of the Month are named for May.

Game Recaps for Thursday

Explorers Win in 10

Matt Lloyd drilled a three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning to lead the Sioux City Explorers to a 6-5 victory over the Cleburne Railroaders, salvaging the final game of the series for Sioux City. The Explorers had lost four straight games and had blown a two-run advantage, as Cleburne had tied the score late.

The Explorers jumped out on top in the top of the first on an RBI single by Daniel Perez. In the fourth, Jack Kelly singled home a run to extend the lead to two, but Hill Alexander homered in the bottom half of the frame, his fifth of the year. The Explorers responded in the top of the fifth when Lloyd hit his first home run of the contest, making it 3-1.

Jared Wetherbee was fantastic for the Explorers, allowing one run in seven innings, but the bullpen could not hold the advantage. In the bottom of the eighth, Delino DeShields led off with a home run against reliever Carlos Diaz, and a sacrifice fly by DeShields in the bottom of the ninth tied the score. That sent the contest to the 10th where Lloyd gave his team a three-run advantage. Cleburne pulled within a run, but could not get the equalizer.

Sean Rackoski blew the save, but earned his fourth victory of the season out of the bullpen. Brendan Bell took the loss. Lloyd finished 2-4 with three runs scored and four RBI. DeShields and Mark Karaviotis each had two RBI for Cleburne.

Sioux City Explorers Recap by Austin Thomas

Boxscore

RedHawks Rally to Down Canaries

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks rallied from a one run deficit, scoring two runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to earn a 7-2 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Correlle Prime earned his second victory of the season, tossing six solid innings, allowing five hits and two runs. The RedHawks bullpen threw three scoreless frames to finish off the victory.

The RedHawks took the lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Leobaldo Pina, but Sioux Falls tied the score when Mike Hart drilled his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the second. The Canaries took the lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Jordan Barth, but the Canaries offense was shut down from there.

That enabled the RedHawks to battle back. In the sixth, John Silviano delivered a two-run single to put Fargo-Moorhead on top for good. An inning later, Evan Alexander hit a two-run homer, his third of the year, and the RedHawks added two more in the eighth on RBI singles by Nick Novak and B.J. Lopez.

Alexander finished 2-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Barth had two hits for the Canaries. Chris Hardin took the loss, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Recap by Chad Miller

Boxscore

Milkmen Cage RailCats

The Milwaukee Milkmen scored four in the second and added three in both the fourth and fifth innings to earn a 10-4 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Cam Balego and Aaron Hill each hit their first home run of the season, as the duo combined to go 5-10 with four runs scored and six RBI.

That made a winner of Ryan Zimmerman, who allowed three runs in six innings. Hill finished 3-5 with three runs scored and three RBI, and Balego was 2-5 with a run scored and three RBI. Emmanuel Tapia homered twice for the RailCats and Luis Castillo went 2-4 with two RBI.

Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Zach Letson

Boxscore

Dogs Complete Sweep

The Chicago Dogs completed the sweep of their three-game series of the Winnipeg Goldeyes on Thursday, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to seal a 9-4 victory. Josh Altmann hit his eighth home run of the season, tying him to the American Association lead, and Ryan Lidge had three hits in the contest.

Chicago held a one run lead entering the top of the fifth, but a three-run home run by Max Murphy, his fifth of the year, put the Goldeyes on top by two. The Dogs responded in the bottom half of the inning, as Altmann blasted a two-run shot to knot the game at four. Chicago retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Matt Bottcher hit his first home run of the year, and blew this game open in the eighth, scoring four runs on just three hits. Nick Keith delivered an RBI double, and Lidge followed with an RBI single. Donivan Williams capped off the scoring with a two-run double.

Lidge finished 3-4 with a run scored and two RBI, and Altmann scored twice and drove in two. Jesus Lujano had three hits, including hitting his second homer of the year. Bottcher scored twice had two hits. Murphy led Winnipeg, scoring twice and driving in three.

Chicago Dogs Recap by Sam Brief

Boxscore

DockHounds Crush Cougars to Salvage Finale

Brian Rey homered twice and drove in five to help the Lake Country DockHounds salvage the final game of their series against the Kane County Cougars, winning 11-4. This was a wild affair that saw the teams combine for nine runs through the first three innings, but it was all Lake Country from there, scoring the final six runs of the contest to secure the victory.

In the first, Demetrius Sims hit a two-run homer to put Lake Country on top. It was the second home run of the season for Sims. Kane County cut the deficit in half of the bottom half of the frame, but Rey hit his first home run of the night in the top of the second, a two-run shot that made it 4-1. Once again, the Cougars responded, as Josh Allen hit his third home run of the year in the bottom half of the inning, a two-run shot to make it is one run game.

The teams exchanged runs in the third, but the DockHounds dominated from there, scoring a run in the fifth, two more the seventh, and three more in the ninth. Rey had his second home run of the game, a three-run shot in the ninth, giving him his first two home runs of the season.

Keisy Portorreal earned the victory, tossing three scoreless innings of relief. Six players recorded two hits for the DockHounds, including Jaxx Groshans, who also scored twice and drove in three. Sims scored twice and drove in two. Allen scored twice and had two RBI for the Cougars and T.J. Bennett had two hits.

Boxscore

Three Stars of the Night

No. 3 – Emmanuel Tapia (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI

No. 2 – Brian Rey (Lake Country DockHounds) 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI

No. 1 – Matt Lloyd (Sioux City Explorers) 2-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

American Association Daily Notes

The Gary SouthShore RailCats announced on Thursday that technology executive Joseph Eng had purchased the team from Patrick and Lindy Salvi. The Salvi’s own the club for 14 years… This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named the May honorees in the American Association. It was a clean sweep for the Chicago Dogs, as shortstop Josh Altmann was named as the Player of the Month and right-hander Tyler Palm was named as the Pitcher of the Month… The Sioux City Explorers have already played five extra-inning games this season, going 3-2. The Kane County Cougars are 0-5 in extra-inning games. The two clubs have played the most extra-inning contests this season… Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks closer Reid Birlingmair became the second player since the season began to have his contract transferred to a Major League affiliate. Cleburne Railroaders first baseman Ryan Hernandez joined the Los Angeles Angels organization… Winnipeg Goldeyes outfielder Dayson Croes extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games. That is tied for the longest Greek in the American Association this season.