Grauer Silences RailCats, Railroaders Edge Dogs, Cougars Walk-Off Saltdogs
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 six games in the American Association on Wednesday, including the Tyler Grauer blanking the Gary SouthShore RailCats, the Kane County Cougars walk-off the Lincoln Saltdogs, and Jacob Robson homers again for the Kansas City monarchs. This, plus much more.
Game Recaps for Wednesday
Four-Run First Propels Railroaders
The Cleburne Railroaders scored four runs in the first inning, then held on to defeat the Chicago Dogs, 4-3. Chase Simpson got things going for the Railroaders, drilling a three-run homer, his 23rd of the year. Two batters later, Hunter Wolfe singled home Hill Alexander to extend the lead to four.
Chicago responded with single runs in the second and third innings, but Cleburne starter Jesus Sanchez pitched very well, leaving after five, allowing one earned run on five hits. Brandon Bell came on in the sixth and gave up a homerun to Stevie Wilkerson, but the Railroaders bullpen shut down Chicago from there. Nick Gardewine came on in the ninth to record his 14th save of the season.
Michael Crouse and Wilkerson each had two hits for Chicago. Zach Nehrir had two hits for Cleburne.
Milkmen Slug Way Past DockHounds
The Milwaukee Milkmen used two homeruns, 16 hits, and 11 walks to slug their way past the Lake Country DockHounds on Wednesday, 16-9. This was a wild affair early on that saw each team score two runs in the first and four in the third. However, the Milkmen came away with a 7-6 lead, adding a run in the second.
Logan Trowbridge hit a two-run homer in the first and Casey Dykstra added a two-run homer in the third for the RailCats. Gary SouthShore tied the score in the bottom of the fifth, but Milwaukee took the lead for good, scoring six runs in the top of the sixth inning. Keon Barnum drilled a grand slam, his 24th of the year.
Jake Matthys came off the disabled list to earn the victory, allowing one run in 2.2 innings. Barnum finished with two hits and drove in five and Bryan Torres was 3-5 with four runs scored. Trowbridge had two hits, scored three runs, and drove in three. Daikan Yoh and Tristen Carranza each had three hits for Lake Country. Dykstra finished with two hits, drove in two, and scored two runs.
Walk-Off Walk Propels Cougars
Cornelius Randolph drew the second straight bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Kane County Cougars a 6-5 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs. Kane County took the lead in the bottom of the first when Jimmy Kerrigan drilled his 27th homerun of the season, a three-run shot. Lincoln chipped away at the lead, scoring two runs in the top of the second on a two-run single by Randy Norris. However, Kane County extended their lead to two when Nick Franklin drove home Kerrigan with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The Cougars were in command of this game behind José Fuentes, who allowed two runs in 5.2 innings. However, the Saltdogs rallied against reliever Michael Morin in the eighth to take the lead. A fielder’s choice pulled the Saltdogs within one and an RBI single by Justin Byrd tied the score. Rayder Ascanio then drove home Norris with a suicide squeeze bunt to put Lincoln on top for the first time in the game.
That sent the contest to the ninth where closer Steffon Moore gave up back-to-back singles to start the frame. A sacrifice moved both runners up before the lefty walked Ernie De La Trinidad to load the bases. Sherman Johnson then drew a five pitch walk to tie the score. That brought Randolph to the plate who walked on four straight pitches to drive home the winning run.
Ryan Tapani earned the victory. Kerrigan finished with two hits, scored two runs, and drove in three. Welington Dotel and Norris each had three hits for Lincoln.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Homers Propel Kansas City to Victory
The Kansas City Monarchs hit four homeruns to help lead the club to a 10-7 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The Goldeyes jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring two in the first and one in the second and fourth innings. Ian Sagdal gave his team the lead in the top of the first with a two-run homer, his sixth of the year and Hidekel Gonzalez added a solo blast in the second.
The Monarchs responded with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, all scoring on homeruns. Jacob Robson drilled his seventh of the year, a three-run blast, and Jan Hernandez and J.C. Escarra each had its solo home runs to give Kansas City the lead. Winnipeg tied the score in the top of the fifth, but the Monarchs retook the lead for good on an RBI double by Darnell Sweeney in the bottom half of the frame.
Ryan Grotjohn drilled a three-run homer in the sixth, and the bullpen did the rest. Brandon Koch struck out the side in the eighth and Jameson McGrane came on in the ninth to record his 16th save of the season. Grotjohn finished 2-3 with three runs scored, three RBI, and two walks. Robson had two hits and drove in three. Sagdal and Logan Hill each drove in two for the Goldeyes.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Dan Vaughan, Jr.
Rodriguez Stymies Canaries
Nivaldo Rodriguez allowed one run in 6.0 innings to lead the Sioux City Explorers to a 7-2 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Sioux City scored single runs in each of the first four frames. Danny Amaral led off the contest with his sixth homerun of the season and the team produced sacrifice flies over each of the next three frames to extend the lead to four. Sioux Falls got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on Gavin LaValley’s 19th homerun of the season, but the Explorers added two more runs in the top of the sixth on RBI singles by Blake Tiberi and Danry Vasquez. Each club scored one more run.
Rodriguez was fantastic, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out nine. Amaral finished with two hits and scored three times and Vasquez had two hits and drove in two. LaValley finished 3-5 with a run and drove in both runs for the Canaries.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Connor Ryan
Grauer, Lind Blank RailCats
Tyler Grauer tossed eight shutout innings to earn his 10th victory of the season, as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks defeated the Gary SouthShore RailCats, 5-0. Grauer allowed six hits and a walk while striking out eight. Luke Lind came on in the ninth to finish off the shutout.
Fargo-Moorhead took the lead in the bottom of the second when Peter Maris scored on an error and John Silviano later added an RBI double and the inning. The two-run lead held until the sixth when another error brought home Silviano and Sam Dexter scored on an Evan Alexander double. The third error brought home one more run in the seventh.
Manuel Boscan finished 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Silviano and Maris each had two hits. No one had more than one hit for the RailCats.
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Nivaldo Rodriguez (Sioux City Explorers) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, ER, 9 K
No. 2 – Keon Barnum (Milwaukee Milkmen) 2-4, 2 R, HR, 2 BB, 5 RBI
No. 1 – Tyler Brower (Fargo-Moorhead) 8.0 IP, 6 H, BB, 0 ER, 8 K
American Association Daily Notes
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks became the first team to reach 60 victories… Kansas City Monarchs infielder Jacob Robson has homered in four straight games, hitting five homeruns in that span… Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks left-hander Tyler Grauer earned his 10th victory of the season on Wednesday, tying him for the American Association lead in victories. Grauer is second in innings pitched (115.1) behind teammate Kevin McGovern (117.0).
Transactions
Kane County: Placed RHP Vance Worley on the Inactive List
Kansas City: Placed LHP Lewis Thorpe on the Injured List retroactive to August 14; Signed RHP Jalen Miller and RHP Alex Valdez
Milwaukee: Activated RHP Jake Matthys from the Injured List; Placed RHP D.J. Sharabi on the Injured List retroactive to August 13
Sioux City: Signed INF Miguelangel Sierra
Sioux Falls: Signed OF Wyatt Ulrich
By Robert Pannier
