Monarchs Dominate Canaries, Railroaders Snap Skid, RedHawks Continue to Soar
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. Robert Pannier recaps the six games in the American Association on Friday, including the Cleburne Railroaders snapping their losing skid, the Lincoln Saltdogs rally to down the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks continue to soar. This and much more.
Nehrir Walk-Off Homer Ends Railroaders Skid
Zach Nehrir homered with one down in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Cleburne Railroaders a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Dogs. The victory snapped the eight-game losing streak of the Railroaders.
Both teams scored a run in the second. Ryan Lidge drilled his second homer of the year and Jordan Wiley drove home Nehrir with a double. In the fifth, the Dogs retook the lead, as Danny Mars singled home Charlie Tilson. A.J. Kullman started for Chicago and was brilliant, allowing one run in 6.0 innings. Ryan Clark took over the seventh and tossed two perfect innings. In the ninth, Paul Schwendel took over and retired the first hitter of the inning but, after a walk, Nehrir turned on a 1-0 pitch for his first homer of the year.
Garrett Alexander started for Cleburne and was spectacular, allowing two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings. He struck out 11. Nick Gardewine earned the win, tossing a perfect ninth. Nehrir finished 2-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Big Innings Power DockHounds Past Cougars
The Lake Country DockHounds scored six runs in the sixth and added seven more in the ninth to seal a 15-6 victory over the Kane County Cougars. The DockHounds opened with single runs in each of the first two innings, but the Cougars responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. However, Lake Country blew this game open, plating six in the sixth. The DockHounds sent 11 men to the plate in the frame. Kane County responded with two runs in the sixth and two in the eight, but Lake Country closed this game out with seven more in the ninth, sending 11 batters to the plate.
Gabriel Noriega went 3-6 with two runs and three RBI. Lamar Briggs and Blake Berry each went 2-5 with two runs scored. Berry added two RBI. Jake Snider had an outstanding game as well, going 2-3 with three runs, two RBI and two walks. Taylor Bloye earned the victory, allowing two runs in 5.0 innings.
Steve Lombardozzi recorded three hits for the third straight game. Dylan Busby went 2-4 with three RBI. Josh Rolette was 2-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Lake Country DockHounds Recap by Sam Matheny
Saltdogs Rally to Down Goldeyes
The Lincoln Saltdogs scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The Goldeyes scored two runs in the first and added one in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead. Max Murphy had a two-run single in the first.
Josh Lucas was spectacular for Winnipeg, allowing one run on two-hits in 7.0 innings. However, after he came out, the Saltdogs struck against Erasmo Pinales. Ryan Long singled to drive home JR DiSarcina and he later scored on a sacrifice fly that tied the score. With two down and the bases loaded, Matt Goodheart drew a six-pitch walk to give Lincoln their first lead of the game.
Carson Lance earned the victory, striking out the side in the eighth. Brandon Cunniff came on in the ninth, closing the contest out for his fourth save of the season. No player had more than one hit in the game.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Monarchs Score 14 Unanswered Runs to Down Canaries
The Kansas City Monarchs found themselves trailing the Sioux Falls Canaries 5-1 entering the bottom of the fourth. However, the Monarchs dominated from there, scoring four in the fifth, three in the seventh, and seven in the eighth to earn a 15-5 victory.
The top three in the Monarchs lineup were fantastic, going a combined 5-12 with seven runs scored and five RBI. Gabriel Guerrero had a huge game for Kansas City, going 2-4 with three runs, three RBI, and a homer. Willie Abreu was 2-6 with two runs scored and Pete Kozma finished 1-2 with three runs scored, two RBI, and a walk. Jordan Martinson earned the victory, tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
The top of the order was excellent for Sioux Falls as well, going a combined 5-14 with three runs scored and five RBI. Both Wyatt Ulrich and Ozzie Martinez went 2-5 with a run and two RBI. Martinez hit his second homerun of the season.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Caleb Grizzle
Ward, Silviano Power RedHawks Past Explorers
Drew Ward and John Silviano each homered to lead the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to a 5-4 victory over the Sioux City Explorers. The RedHawks took a 3-0 lead just three batters into the contest. Peter Maris let off with a walk and Manuel Boscan followed with a base hit. That brought Ward to the plate, who turned on a 0-1 pitch for his fifth homerun of the season. Mitch Ghelfi cut the deficit to one with a two run double in the bottom of the second and the Explorers tied the score on an RBI single by Trey Martin an inning later. However, Fargo-Moorhead took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when Silviano hit a two-run blast, his fourth homerun of the season to give the RedHawks a 5-3 lead.
Ryan Flores earned the victory, striking out 10 in 6.0 innings. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits in earning his second victory of the season. Sioux City was able to cut the deficit to one when Gabe Snyder drilled his third homerun of the season in the bottom of the eighth, but Alex DuBord came on in the ninth to close out the contest for his league-leading sixth save of the season.
Silviano and Boscan both finished with three hits. Silviano was a perfect 3-3 with a run, two RBI, and a walk. Snyder had two hits and scored two runs for Sioux City. Tyler Beardsley took the loss.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Mackenzie Attkisson
Milkmen Rally Late to Down RailCats
The Gary Southshore RailCats held a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, but the Milwaukee Milkmen scored six runs over the final four frames to earn a 6-5 walk-off victory. Keon Barnum delivered the decisive blow, hitting a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth. It was his seventh homerun of the season.
The RailCats were cruising early behind starter John Sheaks, who tossed five shutout innings to start the game, striking out 12. His team did the rest, scoring a run of the first, and adding two in the fourth and two in the sixth. The top three in the RailCats batting order were leading the way, going a combined 6-11 with two runs scored and four RBI. Javeyan Williams had two hits and scored two runs and Michael Cruz drove in a pair, recording two hits.
Gary Southshore looked in complete command, but Milwaukee finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth, adding a solo run in both the sixth and seventh innings. In the eighth, Dylan Kelly and Bryan Torres each brought home runs with RBI doubles. That made it 5-4, setting up the dramatic ninth inning. With Chris Erwin in for his third inning of work, Mason Davis led off with a base hit and Barnum worked the count to 2-2 before drilling the walk-off homerun. Jake Matthys earned the victory. Barnum finished with two hits and three RBI.
Gary Southshore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Keon Barnum (Milwaukee Milkmen) 2-5, R, HR, 5 RBI
No. 2 – John Sheaks (Gary Southshore RailCats) 5.1 H, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
No. 1 – Josh Lucas (Winnipeg Goldeyes) 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, ER, 4 K
American Association Daily Notes
Milwaukee Milkmen 1B Keon Barnum hit his league leading seventh homerun of the season on Friday… Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks right-hander Alex DuBord closed out Friday’s game for his league leading sixth save of the year… The Cleburne Railroaders snapped their eight-game losing streak on Friday… The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks earned their seventh straight win on Friday. That is the longest winning streak in the American Association so far this season. The victory by Fargo dealt the Sioux City Explorers their sixth straight loss… The Sioux Falls Canaries Wyatt Ulrich, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Drew Ward, and Kane County Cougars Ernie De La Trinidad all extended their hitting streaks to 13 straight games… Kane County Cougars infielder Steve Lombardozzi has now recorded three hits in three straight games, raising his batting average 144 points.
Transactions
Gary SouthShore: Released INF Donivan Williams
Milwaukee: Placed RHP Danny Zardon on the Injured List retroactive to May 19; Activated RHP Rodrigo Benoit from the Reserve List
Sioux City: Placed RHP Jonah Smith on the Inactive List retroactive to May 22
By Robert Pannier
