Mars, Grier Propel Dogs to Victory over Milkmen
By Jack Ankony, The Chicago Dogs
Cosimo Cannella has recently been the odd man out of the Dogs lineup. But as the Dogs faced off with Milwaukee on Sunday in a rubber match with serious North Division implications, Butch Hobson gave Cannella the nod at third base.
In Cannella’s first start since June 7, he took Ryan Zimmerman deep to left centerfield for a two-run home run, giving the Dogs a 3-0 lead in the second inning. This was Cannella’s second home run of the season and surely the biggest hit in his young career with the Dogs.
Cannella, a local kid from Saint Viator High School, went 1-for-3 today with a home run, two RBI, one run scored, a hit-by-pitch and a walk. He took advantage of an opportunity to start and played an integral role in igniting the Dogs lineup.
After a 5-0 loss on Saturday, the Dogs’ bats caught fire on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee en route to an 11-5 win.
Ryan Lidge was moved up to the clean up spot today and proved it was a deserving move. He extended his hit streak to 11 games, which is a 2021 Dogs record, and is now batting .369 on the season.
Lidge scored two runs on Sunday thanks to the hot bat of Danny Mars, who was 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs scored, one RBI and two walks. Mars did his part in setting the table for Johnny Adams and Anfernee Grier, who led the Dogs with three RBI.
Grier’s bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning gave the Dogs a 7-1 lead, and Adams provided two insurance runs as he banged a double off the wall in the eighth to secure a Dogs victory.
Any series victory on the road is a positive, but this one was especially sweet as the Dogs move ahead of the defending American Association champions in the division. But next up could be an even greater challenge, as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks come to Impact Field on Tuesday, clinging to a half-game lead in the division.
Between Jordan Kipper’s complete game on Friday and Michael Bowden’s five innings of one-run ball on Sunday, the Dogs starting rotation has shown promise moving forward. It is that kind of effort on the mound, coupled with contributions up and down the lineup that we saw today that will be necessary in order to overtake the RedHawks for first place in the division.
