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The Winnipeg Goldeyes (52-41) moved into sole possession of first place in the American Association’s West Division with a 6-3 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats Monday evening at Blue Cross Park. The Goldeyes now sit a half game ahead of the Sioux Falls Canaries, who were idle.
Box Score
Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when shortstop Ramón Bramasco came in on left fielder Miles Simington’s double to right field. Simington now has 31 two-baggers on the season, just one shy of the league lead.
The Goldeyes added a run an inning later on second baseman Edwin Arroyo’s sacrifice fly to centre field that scored third baseman Dayson Croes.
José Contreras put Gary SouthShore (30-64) ahead in the top of the sixth with a three-run home run to right-centre field that made the score 3-2.
In the bottom of the same inning, Winnipeg batted around and scored three times without the benefit of a hit. First, Croes came home on pinch hitter Keshawn Lynch’s groundout to shortstop to tie the game at 3-3. Centre fielder Nick Anderson and Arroyo were then forced home on back-to-back bases loaded walks, giving the Goldeyes two-run advantage.
Winnipeg went ahead 6-3 in the seventh when Croes trotted home on first baseman Jake McMurray’s sacrifice fly to right field.
Tasker Strobel (W, 4-2) was credited with the win, despite allowing two runs on three hits in an inning and two-thirds. Ryder Yakel (S, 1) worked the final two frames, fanning three of the eight batters he faced.
Goldeyes starter Joey Matulovich exited in the sixth inning and gave up a run on three hits. He struck out ten batters, increasing his league-best season total to 145. Matulovich passed former Major League All-Star Jeff Zimmerman to move into second place on Winnipeg’s single-season strikeouts list.
Hunter Treece (L, 0-1) surrendered two runs in two-thirds of an inning but did not allow a base hit.
The series continues Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with right-hander Landen Bourassa (7-6, 4.12 ERA) starting for the Goldeyes. The RailCats are expected to send Tai Tiedemann (5-8, 6.09 ERA) to the mound.
Tuesday is Soirée Francophone, and the Goldeyes will celebrate Manitoba’s Francophone culture.
The final regular season homestand of the season will conclude with a four-game series against the Lincoln Saltdogs that gets underway Friday when one lucky fan will win a trip to Jamaica, and our final spectacular fireworks show of the season.