Terry, Marriaga, Perez Each Homer Twice, Aris Muzzles Dogs
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, Rob Pannier recaps the six games in the American Association on Wednesday, including Curtis Terry homering twice in the same inning for the Lake Country DockHounds, Jesus Marriaga drives home the game-winner in the 10th to lead the Gary SouthShore RailCats to a comeback victory, and Nick Belzer earned the victory in his debut for the Kane County Cougars.
Game Recaps for Wednesday
Belzer Wins in Return
Kane County Cougars right-hander Nick Belzer made his return to the American Association a victorious one, as the Cougars defeated the Cleburne Railroaders, 5-3. Belzer gave up two runs in the first inning, then settled down to toss four scoreless frames. Daniel Bies came on in the ninth to close out the game for his 12th save of the year.
Cleburne took the lead in the top of the first on a two-run homer by José Sermo. It was the first game back for Sermo after returning from Mexico. Kane County had no answers for Railroaders starter Miguel Ausua through the first three innings, but tied the score in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Olivier Basabe and a balk. In the fifth, Kane County took the lead when Cornelius Randolph doubled home a run and he scored on a Todd Lott single. Lott scored when Donivan Williams single two batters later. Cleburne added one more run in the sixth, but were shut down by the Kane County bullpen over the final three innings.
Basabe had three hits and drove in a run and Randolph and Lott each scored twice for the Cougars. Sermo was 2-3 with a run scored and two RBI.
Perez Homers Twice to Lead Explorers
Daniel Perez homered twice and drove in four as the Sioux City Explorers crushed the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 13-4. Sioux City scored at least one run in every inning but the fifth, putting up single runs in the first, second, fourth, and eighth, and added three in the third, sixth, and seventh.
Sioux City took command of this game from the start, scoring six unanswered runs through the first four frames. Perez hit a three-run homer in the third. Home runs by Leobaldo Pina and Sam Dexter cut the deficit to three in the top of the sixth, but the Explorers responded with three in the bottom half of the inning. Vince Fernandez hit a three-run homer in the seventh, and Perez hit his second home run of the day, a solo shot in the eighth.
Mitchell Verburg earned the victory while Kevin McGovern took the loss. Fernandez also drove in four and Matt Lloyd was 4-5 with two runs scored.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Austin Thomas
Monarchs Sink Goldeyes
The Kansas City Monarchs bullpen tossed four scoreless innings, sealing a 6-2 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Kansas City made the most of their six hits, earning seven walks to help lead Brandon Finnegan to his fifth victory of the year.
Kansas City took the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs. Winnipeg battled back with single runs in the fourth and the fifth to cut the deficit to one, but the Monarchs scored one in the bottom half of the fifth, and added two more in the eighth. Jan Hernandez drove in two and Jacob Robson scored twice. Dayson Croes and Miles Simington each had two hits for Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Doug Greenwald
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Nolan Brooks
Nine-Run Fourth Propels DockHounds to Victory
The Lake Country DockHounds scored nine runs in the fourth inning, propelling them to a 13-7 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen. Curtis Terry led the way, homering twice and driving in five and Brian Rey scored four times, had four hits, and drove in three. Marco Becerril earned his first victory of the year.
Rey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to give his club a one run lead, but Milwaukee responded with two runs in the second and third innings to take the lead. Cam Redding hit a two-run homer in the second. The DockHounds were trailing, but things changed quickly in the bottom of the fourth as the club sent 12 men to the plate. Terry pulled his team within one with his first home run of the game. The club led by three when Terry hit his second home run of the frame, a three-run shot, his eighth of the year.
Bryan Torres had three hits for Milwaukee and Gabriel Cancel scored twice.
Aris Muzzles Dogs
Abdallah Aris gave up two runs and struck out nine in 7.0 innings to lead the Lincoln Saltdogs to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Dogs. Aris earned his fifth when and Devin Conn came on in the ninth to earn the save.
Lincoln jumped out in front in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs. They extended the lead to three on an RBI single by Jason Rogers in the third. Josh Altmann led off the top of the fourth with his 19th homer of the year, but the Saltdogs restored the three-run advantage on a sacrifice fly by Yanio Perez in the bottom of the fifth. The lead became four in the sixth, but Chicago refused to go away, scoring a run in the seventh and ninth innings. The Dogs had the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth, but Conn struck out Cody Bohanek to end the game.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Marriaga Delivers Walk-Off Hit in 10th
Jesus Marriaga doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Gary SouthShore RailCats and 8-7 come from behind victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Marriaga had three hits and drove in four for the RailCats, helping DJ Wilkinson earn the victory. The reliever tossed two scoreless innings.
Sioux Falls trailed by a run after three, but scored two runs in the top of the fourth and added three more in the fifth. Hunter Clanin hit a two-run homer in the fourth. The RailCats responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-run homer off the bat of Seth Caddell. An inning later, Marriaga hit a two-run shot, his second home run of the day. The RailCats scored a run in the top of the seventh to take the lead, but Sioux Falls put up to the top of the eighth to regain the advantage. The RailCats refused to go away, however, as LG Castillo drove home Marriaga in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score. That sent the game to the 10th where Marriaga doubled home Jackson Valera with the game-winning run.
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Zach Letson
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Daniel Perez (Sioux City Explorers) 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
No. 2 – Curtis Terry (Lake Country DockHounds) 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI
No. 1 – Jesus Marriaga (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, Double, 2 HR
American Association Daily Notes
Lake Country DockHounds first baseman Curtis Terry homered twice in the fourth inning on Wednesday. That is the first time a player has homered twice in the same frame this season, and the first time in franchise history that a DockHounds player has done so… Lincoln Saltdogs catcher Luke Roskam extended his consecutive on-base streak to 36 straight games. That is the second longest streak in the American Association this season.
Transactions
Cleburne: Released INF Keshawn Lynch
Fargo-Moorhead: Released RHP Conner Richardson
Kane County: Activated OF Cornelius Randolph from the Inactive List; Released OF Jimmy Kerrigan
Lake Country: Released INF Kevin Maitan
Sioux City: Placed C Wilfredo Gimenez on the Injured List retroactive to July 22
American Association Articles on Minor League Sports Report
Milwaukee Milkmen RHP Kyle Mora Named American Association Pitcher of the Month
Milwaukee Milkmen Infielder Bryan Torres Named American Association Player of the Month
Kane County Cougars OF Todd Lott Named American Association Player of the Week
Kane County Cougars RHP C.J. Eldred Named American Association Pitcher of the Week
By Robert Pannier