American Association Insider: Saturday August 8th Takeaways

 Kevin Luckow

(non member of IBWAA)

You all don't know how good you have it having an American Association team near your home. I woke up today, found out the wife and stepson had plans. If I stay home, I'll be by myself, just like I was for most of my trip East over the week. Too much alone time gets a bit depressing. So, I decided to once again get on the road and head to Sioux Falls to catch the Milkmen vs. Canaries game. Three hours each way. Good music however cuts into the monotony of the drive. But it was worth the drive, because Saturday night's in the Summer are meant for baseball, and we're quickly heading down the home stretch. FOMO is real.

Kane County 5 Gary SouthShore 1

The Cougars notched their American Association franchise record 10th in a row, scoring four runs off of former MLB pitcher Erasmo Ramirez in the seventh to break a 1-1 deadlock in the eighth. Both starters were on as Tommy Kane had his best start for the Cougars allowing a run in six innings. Deyni Olivero went seven for the RailCats allowing one run. With the win, future American Association Hall of Fame manager George Tsamis has matched his longest winning streak depending on how you look at it. He won 10 in a row for the St. Paul Saints and also won 12 straight over two seasons. Thanks to Sean Aronson of the Saints for that tidbit.

Kansas City 13 Fargo-Moorhead 9

The RedHawks scored nine runs in the final three innings. Only problem was that they had staked the Monarchs to a 12-0 lead. Monarchs slugger Luken Baker was once again made his impact. Baker hit a three run home run, a two run triple and six runs batted in for the night. Baker in 35 games now has 43 runs batted in. Prorated over 100 games, that would be on pace for 42 home runs and 122 runs batted in. Austin Krob threw six shutout innings for the Monarchs before the bullpen let the RedHawks put a scare into the announced 2.331 fans at Legends Field.

Lake Country 7 Cleburne 2

Ripken Reyes drove in three runs in going 3-3 for the night. A.J. Block allowed a pair of runs in seven innings as the DockHounds handed the Railroaders their fourth straight loss. Cole Foster had a two run home run for the Railroaders, whose offense is feeling the loss of Delino DeShields Jr. and Mallex Smith. Nobody is going to feel sorry for them, it's time for the rest of the lineup to step up to keep the RailCats at bay. 

Sioux City 4 Chicago 3

It looked good early for the Dogs as they took a 3-0 lead after two innings, highlighted by a Tyreque Reed two run home run in the first inning. The Explorers came back with three runs in the fourth to knot the game at three. It stayed that way until the eighth inning when Alberto Osuna drove in Henry George with the winning run. But the drama reached its peak in the ninth. With a runner on base for the Dogs with two outs, Nick Roselli launched a deep drive to right field that was headed over the fence, but D'Shawn Knowles lept and caught it. I was watching the play unfold on AATV after the Canaries game. It was interesting to see the Sioux City feed with Dan Vaughan calling the catch, then going back and hearing Aaron Shelan's call. As they used to say on Wide World of Sports, the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. The Dogs losing streak now sits at 11 games, ironically starting with the same game that Kane County began their 11 game winning streak. 



Lincoln 12 Winnipeg 2

I guess if you're going to end a winning streak, do it dominating fashion. The Saltdogs did exactly that. Jairo Pomares and Connor Bagnieski combined to go 4-7 with two home runs, seven runs driven in and five runs scored. Foster Pace was the recipient of the run support going seven innings allowing just one run, his longest start of the season. 

Milwaukee 10 Sioux Falls 5

A five run fourth inning including a three run home run by Charlie Marion spotted the Milkmen a 7-0 lead. The Canaries made a game of it in the seventh inning, scoring four runs, but two more insurance runs by the Milkmen were more than enough as the Milkmen guaranteed a series win. Wendell Marrero had a four hit game for the Milkmen. Michael Curialle and Anthony Hall both drove in a pair of runs for the Canaries. 




















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