Young Blanks Dogs, DockHounds Rolling, Monarchs Sweep Railroaders

Robert Pannier June 4, 2023

Photo Credit: 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 seven games in the American Association on Saturday, including the Milwaukee Milkmen shutting out the Chicago Dogs, the Lake Country DockHounds winning their third straight game, and the Kansas City Monarchs swept a pair from the Cleburne Railroaders.

Game Recaps for Saturday

Young Stymies Dogs in Milkmen Victory

Christian Young tossed six shutout innings as the Milwaukee Milkmen blanked the Chicago Dogs, 3-0. Young tossed six shutout innings for the second straight game, allowing three hits while striking out seven. He has now allowed six hits and three walks over his last 12 innings, striking out 16. Three Milwaukee relievers completed the shutout, with Nate Hadley coming on in the ninth to earn his fifth save of season.

Milwaukee jumped out on top in the top of the second, as Cam Balego hit his third home run of the season. Balego has now homered in three straight games. An inning later, Aaron Hill drove home Rudy Martin with an RBI single, and he later scored on a single by Gabriel Cancel.

That made a hardluck loser for Ryan O’Reilly, who allowed three runs in seven innings. Jesus Lujano had two hits for Chicago. Balego finished with two hits for Milwaukee.

Boxscore

Herold Sinks Goldeyes

Nick Herold tossed eight shutout innings and Matt Mullenbach tossed a scoreless frame as the Lake Country DockHounds shut out the Winnipeg Goldeyes, 6-0. Herold (3-1) gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out eight. Luis Ramirez took the loss.

Lake Country took command of this game early, scoring four runs in the first inning. Thomas Jones delivered a two-run double, and Jaxx Groshans followed with an RBI single. Blake Tiberi then drove home Jones with a sacrifice fly. Neither team could score over the next six innings, but the DockHounds added two more in the eighth. Aaron Simmons hit his second home run of the year and Luis Aviles later added an RBI single.

Aviles finished with three hits and Nick Banks had two. Winnipeg recorded just three total hits in the contest.

Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Doug Greenwald

Boxscore

Monarchs Sweep Railroaders

The Kansas City Monarchs completed their suspended game from Friday, dominating the Cleburne Railroaders in a 7-2 victory, then took the regularly scheduled game, 3-2, sweeping the set on Saturday. Kansas City held a 3-0 lead in the first contest, picking up in the third inning. Cleburne was able to rally for two in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit to one, but the Monarchs dominated from there, scoring four unanswered runs over the next four innings. Jan Hernandez led the way, going 2-4, including hitting his second homer of the season. Edwin Diaz hit a three-run homer in the first inning, his first home run since joining Kansas City.

Jordan Martinson earned the victory, tossing for perfect innings. He struck out six. The Railroaders recorded just two hits in the contest.

In the second game, Cleburne took a two-run lead in the top of the first thanks to the seventh home run of the season off the bat of José Sermo. The Monarchs responded with a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Chris Herrmann. In the fourth, Kansas City tied the score when Diaz led off with his second home run of the season. The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh when LJ Hatch delivered a walk off sacrifice fly to give the Monarchs to Victory.

Trey Jeans earned the victory with a scoreless inning of relief. Joe Shaw took the loss. The teams combined for just nine hits.

Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Nolan Brooks

Game 1 Boxscore

Game 2 Boxscore

RailCats Rally to Down Canaries in 10

The Gary SouthShore RailCats found themselves trailing by five entering the top of the eighth, but rallied for six runs over the final two frames to force extra innings. That gave Jesus Marriaga the chance to deliver the game-winning hit, giving Gary SouthShore a 12-11 victory. Marriaga and Victor Nova each drove in four for the RailCats.

Sioux Falls jumped out to a 3-0 lead, scoring two in the first and adding a run in the second. Darnell Sweeney had a solo shot in the second, his fifth of the year. The RailCats responded with three in the top of the third to tie the score, and jumped out in front when Francisco Del Valle hit a solo home run of the fourth, his fourth of the year. Gary SouthShore extended the lead to two on an RBI double by Gio Diaz in the fifth, but the Canaries responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning when Jabari Henry drilled a three-run homer, his third of the year.

Sioux Falls continued to pour it on, scoring four in the bottom of the sixth. That was capped off by an error that allowed two runners to score, putting the Canaries up 10-5. They held the advantage until the top of the eighth when the RailCats cut the deficit to two thanks to the second home run of the season by Marriaga. Sioux Falls scored a run in the bottom half of the inning, but Nova tied the score with a three-run shot in the top of the ninth, his fourth of the season. That sent the game to extra innings were Marriaga drove home the winning run with a bases-loaded single.

Nova and Marriaga both finished 2-4 with two runs scored and four RBI. Diaz was 3-6 with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Henry had two hits for the Canaries, scored three runs, and drove in three.

Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman

Sioux Falls Canaries Recap by Tanner Hoops

Boxscore

Cougars Down Explorers in 12

It took 12 innings, but the Kane County Cougars defeated the Sioux City Explorers, 7-5. Armond Upshaw put his team on top for good, earning C.J. Carter the victory. Carlos Diaz took the loss for Sioux City.

This game was tied at one through four, but the Cougars rallied for two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh. Tyler Beardsley was pitching very well against his former team, allowing just one run through the first seven innings, but the Explorers rallied for four in the eighth, tying the score to force extra innings. Jake Sanford hit a two-run blast in the frame. The game remained tied through 11, but Upshaw put Kane County on top for good with an RBI single in the 12th, and T.J. Bennett followed with an RBI double.

Bennett finished 2-6, including hitting his third home run of the year. Josh Allen had two hits and hit his team-leading fourth of the season. Vince Fernandez and Daniel Perez each finished with two hits for Sioux City.

Sioux City Explorers Recap by Austin Thomas

Boxscore

Dexter Walk-Off Homer Caps Off Wild Affair

Sam Dexter hit a two-run, walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to complete a wild victory for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks over the Lincoln Saltdogs, 10-8. John Witowski earned the victory and Matt Cronin took the loss.

The RedHawks jumped out in front with three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a two run double by John Silviano and an RBI single by Correlle Prime. Lincoln put up a run in the second, and the teams exchanged runs in the fifth, as Fargo-Moorhead held a two run advantage. However, the Saltdogs tied the score in the top of the sixth on a two run double by Aaron Takacs.

The game remained tied through regulation, sending it to the 10th where it looked like the Saltdogs had put this game away in the top half of the inning, scoring four runs on just three hits. However, Fargo-Moorhead rallied to tie the score in the bottom half of the frame, scoring four on just two hits. Prime hit a two-run homer in the inning, his fourth of the season. That sent the game to the 11th, where Dexter quickly fell behind 0-2, then drilled the next pitch he saw for the game-winning home run.

Prime finished 3-5 with a run and three RBI and both Dexter and Silviano finished with two hits and two RBI. Nate Samson had three hits for the Saltdogs, and Samson, Takacs, and Matt Goodheart each drove in a pair.

Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon

Boxscore

Three Stars of the Night

No. 3 – Christian Young (Milwaukee Milkmen) 6.0 IP, 3 H,, 0 ER, BB, 7 K

No. 2 – Jesus Marriaga (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR, HBP

No. 1 – Nick Herold (Lake Country DockHounds) 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 8 K

American Association Daily Notes

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks right-hander Davis Feldman joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization after his contract was transferred on Saturday… Milwaukee Milkmen right-hander Christian Young tossed six shutout innings on Saturday, extending his scoreless string to 15 straight innings. He has not given up a run since the third inning of his May 22 start against Kansas City… The Kane County Cougars defeated the Sioux City Explorers in 12 innings on Saturday. Both teams have now played seven extra inning games, the most in the American Association. The Explorers are 3-4 while the Cougars are 2-5… Winnipeg Goldeyes outfielder Dayson Croes extended his hitting streak to 17 straight games. That is the longest streak in the league this season… The Gary SouthShore RailCats and Sioux Falls Canaries have combined for 48 runs through the first two games of their series.