Goldeyes come to life too late
Drop precious ground in AA wild-card race
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2016 (2771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It looked bleak for the most part, and save for one hopeful half inning in the eighth, the Winnipeg Goldeyes came up short, dropping a 7-5 decision in their first of three weekend meetings with the visiting Sioux City Explorers in American Association action Friday night.
Down 7-2, and after watching the Explorers drop five on them in the top half of the eighth, the Goldeyes’ bats appeared to be heating up for a potential comeback.
With two runners on base, Reggie Abercrombie cranked a ball beyond the Salisbury House sign in left-centre field, pulling the Fish within two runs.
To the Goldeyes and the 5,185 in attendance at Shaw Park, it appeared the beginnings of some drama, as the blast brought life back into a mostly dull affair.
Slumber
The Goldeyes found themselves in a deep slumber through the first six innings.
It took a little luck, courtesy of a glaring error by Explorers right fielder Michael Lang, who watched a Wes Darvill single sail through the ol’ five hole for extra bases, to get the Goldeyes on the board in the seventh.
The gaffe resulted in Darvill reaching third and Josh Romanski scoring from first on the play for their opening run of the game.
The Goldeyes tied the game 2-2 when catcher Tanner Murphy hit into a fielder’s choice, allowing Darvill to score.
Winnipeg’s true awakening came in the eighth, when the Fish surely looked as if they had floated belly-up to the surface.
Instead, after Adam Heisler reached base on a single, and after Willie Cabrera was walked, Abercrombie crushed his 19th dinger of the season, cashing in three while injecting some energy into downtown Winnipeg.
After keeping a clean sheet in the ninth, the Goldeyes went down in order in the bottom half, meaning the only fireworks on the night were of the post-game sort above centre field.
Kevin McGovern, who pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit last Sunday against these same Explorers, was unable to recapture the same form that led him to his seventh win of the season.
Effective
That isn’t to say McGovern wasn’t effective on the mound.
He pitched 6 2/3 innings, surrendering two runs on eight hits while striking out seven. The little offence the Goldeyes gave him only prevented him from picking up his fourth loss on the year.
Meanwhile, Explorers right-hander Jacob Kuebler pitched six scoreless innings, giving up three hits while striking out five.
Kuebler was robbed of a win, with his successor PJ Francescon allowing five runs before getting the hook after just 1 1/3 innings.
The loss could prove costly with nine games left in the 2016 regular season.
With the Laredo Lemurs trailing in the wild-card race by two games heading into Friday’s action, and with a doubleheader for the Texas-based team on tap for them, the Fish watched their lead shrink to a 1 1/2 games as the Lemurs split their contests.
Winnipeg still holds their playoff fate in their hands. Simply, if they win out (nine games remaining in the regular season), they reappear in the playoffs after a year off. If it comes down to it, Winnipeg holds the tie-breaker over Laredo.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck
History
Updated on Saturday, August 27, 2016 8:28 AM CDT: Thumbnail added.