Goldeyes stop road skid with 5-2 win over Saltdogs

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This article was published 20/06/2017 (2501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The road has not been kind of late for the Winnipeg Goldeyes — but ace pitcher Kevin McGovern helped put a stop to their recent skid on Wednesday night.

Winnipeg beat the Lincoln Saltdogs 5-2 to salvage something out of their trip to Nebraska. McGovern worked into the eighth inning, giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out seven. It’s the fifth win of the season for McGovern, which leads the team and puts him among the league’s top pitchers.

Winnipeg (18-14) rebounded nicely after falling 4-3 on Tuesday in 12 innings and suffering a 7-4 defeat on Monday. The Goldeyes came into the game with just five wins in their previous 14 after a red-hot start to the season.

Perhaps most concerning is how they’ve been losing. While the bullpen has been the biggest question mark so far this year for the Goldeyes, a pair of veterans in Victor Capellan and Ryan Chaffee had been lights out.

On Monday, Winnipeg took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the eight — only to have the Saltdogs score four runs off Capellan. On Tuesday, Winnipeg built an early 3-2 lead, then failed to capitalize on several chances to score as the game went on as Lincoln tied it up. Chaffee then began the 12th by hitting a batter, walking two straight and then gave up a bases-loaded single which ended the game.

Wednesday’s game looked like it might follow a similar path, as Winnipeg went into the eighth inning leading 3-1 thanks to RBI singles from Wes Darvill and Reggie Abercromie and a wild pitch which scored another. Lincoln quickly made it a one-run game and had runners on second and third with one out. But reliever Daniel Minor — who only joined the team last weekend — put out the fire by getting an infield pop up and a strikeout.

Shawn Pleffner gave the Goldeyes some breathing room with a bases-loaded, two-out single in the top of the ninth that scored two more. Chaffee then worked a scoreless inning for his league-leading 10th save of the season.

Shortstop Andrew Sohn had a big night hitting out of the leadoff position, with a double, three walks and three runs scored.

The Goldeyes now head to Minnesota for a four-game series beginning Thursday against St. Paul (21-11), who took two of three games last week in Winnipeg. St. Paul currently has a three-game lead over Winnipeg for the Central Division title.

The Goldeyes return to Shaw Park and begin a six-game homestand next Tuesday, with three against Gary and three more against Sioux Falls.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikeoncrime