Latest loss at home robs Fish of No. 1

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Goldeyes reliever Brian Beuning pitched three innings, allowing one run.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes slipped out of first place in the American Association's North Division for the first time in 54 days losing a second straight game to the St. Paul Saints on Sunday at Shaw Park.

Winnipeg (32-22) saw a 3-0 lead slip away as St. Paul (25-28) scored six straight runs on 16 hits while the Goldeyes had only five hits.

A crowd of 4,559 took in the game, which had two rain delays totalling 92 minutes, including 33 minutes prior to the start of the game and 59 minutes during the fifth inning.

It was the final game of a 12-game homestand in which the Goldeyes went 6-6. The Winnipeg team headed out right after the game to Lincoln, Neb., where it will begin a three-game set Monday against the Saltdogs. The seven-game road trip will continue Thursday in Sioux Falls for four against the Pheasants.

"We don't do enough offensively to help ourselves win and it's unacceptable to score three in the first and nothing the rest of the game," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney, whose team scored only three runs in seven of the 12 home games.

"We're very inconsistent on offence right now. You go up 3-0, you have some momentum then you lose momentum when you have three or four straight innings where you make three quick outs on 15 pitches or less, the other team is going to gain momentum and score on you."

St. Paul's designated hitter Ole Sheldon went 4-for-5 at the plate with a home run and four RBI while left-fielder Willie Cabrera hit a double and scored three runs. Highlights for the Goldeyes were a pair of hits by designated hitter Price Kendall and the pitching of reliever Brian Beuning.

Beuning, who played for the Goldeyes in 2007-08 and now has a career as a Minnesota state trooper, is back for his second Goldeyes stint this season. He will remain with the team through the next road trip but in Sioux Falls, he'll drive the 30 minutes between his Luverne, Minn., home and Sioux Falls, S.D. to combine baseball with working a couple of day shifts.

"I love baseball, they needed help and I just want to help these guys. Obviously Winnipeg deserves a championship and there's a bunch of guys on this team that deserve one," said Beuning who came into Sunday's game with a.69 ERA after 13 innings pitched in six previous games. In Sunday's game, he tossed three innings allowing one run (a home run) on three hits and striking out five batters.

Beuning and his wife, Ginger, are expecting their first child with an Aug. 11 due date, a bouncing baby Beuning they have already named Max Joseph. Beuning will drive his own vehicle on the road trip so he can head home on a moment's notice if the baby comes early.

"It's awesome coming back here and being able to enjoy baseball again in this atmosphere," said Beuning, adding his wife has been "a huge support in allowing me to do this." His regular shift has a stretch of six days off each rotation so he can make it work if all is well with his family. "I told Rick I was waiting for his phone call for four years. If there's another chance (to rejoin the team), I'll make sure everything is good to go at home and I'll be there."

Sunday, Winnipeg took a 3-0 lead out of the first inning after an RBI single by Yurendell de Caster, a run scored by Jon Weber on a St. Paul throwing error and an RBI double by Luis Alen.

The Saints made it 3-1 in the top of the third when Cabrera scored on a Sheldon single. In a four-run fifth inning, St. Paul took a 5-3 lead as Sheldon hit a three-run home run followed by a solo homer by first baseman Ronnie Bourquin. The Saints' sixth run came in the top of the ninth, Cabrera's third of the game, on a single by right-fielder Miles Durham.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPAshleyPrest

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 16, 2012 C2