Pobereyko, Explorers Sweep Dogs, Erwin Tosses Gem, Cougars Rally to Down Monarchs

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 Sunday, including Matt Pobereyko returning to the Sioux City Explorers to toss five shutout innings, the Kane County Cougars Rally to Down the Kansas City Monarchs for the fourth straight time, and a six run inning propels the Milwaukee Milkmen to Victory This, plus much more.
RedHawks Rally to Avoid Sweep
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks rallied from a one run deficit, scoring single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to earn a 4-3 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs. That helped the club avoid a sweep of the three-game series against Lincoln.
The Saltdogs took the lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Jason Rogers. The RedHawks took the lead in the bottom of the third when Leobaldo Pina doubled to drive home two runs. However, the lead did not last, as Welington Dotel tied the score with an RBI single in the top of the fourth.
In the fifth, Lincoln retook the lead when Rogers drove home Rayder Ascanio with a sacrifice fly. The RedHawks tied the score an inning later thanks to an RBI single by Sam Dexter that drove home Pina and they took the lead for good on a Peter Maris single in the bottom of the seventh. Luke Lind earned the victory, tossing a scoreless seventh inning and Jon Jones came on in the eighth to toss a scoreless frame as well. Alex DuBord finished off the contest for his 19th save of the season.
Pina finished with two hits and two RBI. Maris had three hits for the RedHawks. Ascanio and Ryan Long each had two hits for Lincoln.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Erwin Dominates in RailCats Victory
Chris Erwin allowed a single run in 6.0 innings, and a three run fifth inning did the rest as the Gary SouthShore RailCats defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries, 3-1. Erwin allowed five hits and no walks while striking out four. The only run of the contest against him came in the second when Aaron Takacs hit a solo homer, his fourth of the season..
Tyler Garkow was shutting Gary SouthShore down through the first four frames, allowing just two hits. However, in the fifth, the RailCats rallied. Two of the first three batters of the inning reached, and Victor Nova made them pay, driving home one run with the second scoring on an error. Nate Scantlin drove home the third run of the frame with an RBI single to make it 3-1.
The bullpen took over after six, as Julio Vivas and Jack Eisenbarger each tossed a scoreless frame. Yeison Medina came on in the ninth to shut the door for his third save of the season. Thomas Greely and Sam Abbott each had two hits and scored a run. Takacs had three hits for Sioux Falls.
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Bullard Solid in Railroaders Victory
Kody Bullard kept the Cleburne Railroaders rolling on Sunday, allowing two runs in five innings as the club defeated the Lake Country DockHounds, 6-3. Cleburne jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring single runs in the second and fourth innings and two in the third. Hill Alexander led off the second with his 11th homerun of the season and Zach Nehrir added a two-run single an inning later. Nick Shumpert made it 4-0 with an RBI single in the fourth.
Things were looking bad for the DockHounds early, but T.J. Bennett scored on a passed ball and Gabriel Noriega came home on a ground out in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-2. Cleburne extended the lead to three in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by Alexander and made it 6-2 on a single by Nehrir in the seventh. Lake Country added one more run in the bottom of the eighth, but could get no closer.
Trevor Simms and Brendan Bell each tossed a scoreless frame for the Railroaders. Kevin McCarthy came on in the ninth to earn his first save of the season. Nehrir finished with two hits and three RBI and Alexander had two hits and drove in two. Chase Simpson had three hits. Jake Snider finished with two hits for the DockHounds.
Pobereyko Returns to Shut Down Dogs
Former closer Matt Pobereyko returned to the Sioux City Explorers in style, tossing five shutout innings to lead the team to a 5-0 victory over the Chicago Dogs. Pobereyko, who recorded 38 saves in his previous stint with Sioux City, made his first start in the American Association a memorable one, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out eight. The bullpen did the rest, completing the shut out with four scoreless frames.
The Explorers jumped out in front in the top of the second as Nate Samson led off with a homerun and Blake Tiberi later added a sacrifice fly. The lead became three in the top of the fourth on the second sacrifice fly of the day for Tiberi. In the sixth, Shane Podsenik drilled a two-run homer, his fourth of the year.
Podsednik had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two. Ademar Rifaela scored two runs as well. No one on Chicago had more than one hit.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Connor Ryan
Cougars Rally Late to Down Monarchs
The Kane County Cougars scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. The victory gave Kane County a sweep of the three-game set, and they have won the last four games against the Monarchs.
This was an exciting game that saw Kansas City take the lead against Kane County starter José Fuentes, scoring a run in the top of the third on a delayed steal. The lead became three in the top of the fifth, as Jacob Robson doubled home two runs.
Matt Hartman was in complete command for Kansas City through the first four innings, but the Cougars finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by Alexis Pantoja. In the eighth, the Monarchs extended their lead to two when Matt Adams hit his 22nd homerun of the season. Jeremy Rhoades came on for Kansas City in the bottom half of the inning, and Kane County pounced. With one down, Sherman Johnson blasted his eighth homerun of the season. Two batters later, Luke Mangieri tripled home Nick Franklin and he scored on a base hit by Galli Cribbs.
Ryan Tapani came on in the ninth, loading the bases before earning his first save the season. He struck out the side. Jack Anderson earned the victory. Fuentes allowed three runs in 7.0 innings. Hartman was outstanding for Kansas City as well, allowing two runs in 6.0 innings.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Jaxson Webb
Six-Run Eighth Propels Milwaukee to Victory
The Milwaukee Milkmen scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase a three-run deficit on their way to a 10-8 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Milwaukee jumped out in front 3-0, scoring a run of the first adding two more in the second. Bryan Torres had a two-run single in the second frame.
Winnipeg put a run up on the board in the top of the fourth, the only run against Milwaukee starter A.J. Schugel, who was brilliant through five innings. However, he came out in the sixth with Ben Holmes coming on and the Goldeyes struck right away, scoring four runs. Max Murphy led off the inning with a homerun and Hidekel Gonzalez added a three-run shot, his eighth of the year.
Winnipeg added two more runs in the top of the eighth on a two-run single by Eric Rivera, but Milwaukee took command of this game, sending 10 men to the plate in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs on only three hits. Jeremiah Burks had the big blow of the inning, drilling a grand slam for his second homer of the year.
Rodrigo Benoit gave up a run of the top of the ninth, but was able to finish off the contest for his sixth save of the season. Torres had three hits and drove in a pair of runs and Miguel Gomez had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two. Tasker Strobel took the loss. Rivera had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Jason Young
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – A.J. Schugel (Milwaukee Milkmen) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, ER, 6 K
No. 2 – Chris Erwin (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, ER, 4 K
No. 1 – Matt Pobereyko (Sioux City Explorers) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 8 K
American Association Daily Notes
The Sioux City Explorers have tossed 18 consecutive shutout innings… Winnipeg Goldeyes OF Max Murphy hit his league-leading 26th homerun of the season… Chicago Dogs OF Michael Crouse extended his home hitting streak to 20 straight games. That is the longest home hitting streak in the American Association this season… Cleburne Railroaders IF Edwin Arroyo extended his consecutive on-base streak to 36 straight games, the longest in the league this year. He has hit .403 with a .494 on-base percentage during the run. That includes posting in 18-game road hitting streak… Milwaukee Milkmen OF Bryan Torres has reached base and 36 straight road games… The Lake Country DockHounds lost their 10th straight game. That is the second time this season that the club has had a 10 game losing streak.
Transactions
Fargo-Moorhead: Placed LHP Tom Windle on the Inactive List retroactive to August 3
Gary SouthShore: Released C Michael Cruz
Kane County: Placed INF Donivan Williams on the Inactive List retroactive to July 27; Activated INF Nick Franklin from the Inactive List
Lake Country: Traded INF Gio Brusa to Kansas City for LHP Carlos D. Diaz
Winnipeg: Signed OF Jacob Rhinesmith
By Robert Pannier