American Association Insider: Thursday August 13th Takeaways

 Kevin Luckow

(non member of IBWAA)

Sorry I'm late with the Takeaways tonight. Between the late conclusion in Kane County plus putting a bunch of work into the Sunday Insider took up a lot of my time. Six series concluded today.

Gary SouthShore 4 Cleburne 3

The RailCats must have read the blog. After losing the first game of the six gamer in Cleburne, the RailCats have bit back winning the last two. They can still go 4-2 or 5-1 and be right in the mix for the final playoff spot. Down 3-2 in the eighth inning, Ozzie Martinez victimized his former club with a two run single to put the RailCats up for good. Peyton Long allowed three runs in 6.2 innings but picked up a no decision for Gary. Aaron Mishoulam allowed two runs in six innings and Carter Aldrete, Mason Minzey and Angel Mendoza all had solo home runs for Cleburne's offense for the night. 

Lake Country 6 Kansas City 0

A.J. Block threw six shutout innings allowing the Monarchs two hits for the night as the Dockhounds didn't have to outslug their opponents to win tonight. Dom Johnson went 4-5 with a solo home run and three runs scored and Joshua Mears drove in three runs. Mears now has 77 runs driven in putting him eight behind Jose Sermo for the league lead. Block has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts totaling 13 innings. Could we see Block emerging as a staff ace?

Chicago 7 Milwaukee 6

One of the tricks you can teach a dog is to roll over and play dead. But the Chicago Dogs want nothing to do with that. With no real hope of getting a playoff spot, the Dogs won the three game series in Franklin. The difference in the game was a two run single by Giovanni DiGiacomo in the ninth inning to put the Dogs ahead for good. Dominic Guzman threw scoreless baseball in the eighth and ninth to pick up and preserve the win. Jaxx Groshans had four hits for the Dogs. 

Winnipeg 12 Sioux Falls 6

A five run seventh broke a 6-6 deadlock as the Goldeyes swept the Canaries out of Canada. The big blow of the inning was a Kevin Garcia three run home run. Keyshawn Lynch drove in three runs and Noah Marcelo along with Ray-Patrick Didder both had three hits for the Goldeyes. Grady Mee had a grand slam for the Canaries that had put the Canaries up 5-4 in the second inning. Losing five of their last six, the Canaries now are just three games ahead of Sioux City. The Goldeyes are now in first place for the first time this season. 

Kane County 5 Lincoln 4

It was a long night at Northwestern Medicince Field as the game which started at 6:30 endured a long rain delay, wrapping up at 11:12 with both teams having to make the long bus drive to Lincoln after the game. The Cougars scored two runs in the sixth to tie the game and got another run in the seventh on a Todd Lott sacrifice fly that ended up being the winning run. The Cougars bullpen went into shutdown mode allowing just one run on two hits in the last five innings to help rally the Cougars to salvage the final game of the series. 

Sioux City 5 Fargo-Moorhead 2

It was a three run fifth inning highlighted by a two run double by Alberto Osuna that led the Explorers to a series win at Newman Outdoor Field. Four Explorers relievers combined to not allow a hit in the last four innings to preserve the lead. As I previously mentioned, the Explorers are now just three games out of a playoff spot. The Explorers have not put together a substantial winning streak all season, but if they can keep winning series, it'll go a long way towards earning a playoff spot. The three game set in Winnipeg this weekend will be huge as the Canaries also have a tough task taking on the RedHawks in Fargo. 


Photo courtesy of Jennifer Andreachi


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