Some nights they’re a fine kettle of Fish

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This article was published 02/09/2016 (3344 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The offence had been in a recent slumber, which is never good news when you’re fighting for a playoff spot with time ticking away on the season.

But the Winnipeg Goldeyes found their lumber in a big way Friday night on their way to a 16-6 victory over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Shaw Park.

Prior to the game, manager Rick Forney expressed hope the cold bats were due to heat up. His team had dropped three of its previous four games, scoring only seven runs in that stretch.

After falling behind 1-0 Friday, Forney’s wishes were granted as the Goldeyes matched their total run production since Sunday by the time the third inning was done — and added plenty more before the night was over.

In the second, Reggie Abercrombie walked, stole a base and then ran to third on a wild pitch before Josh Romanski singled him home. David Rohm and Casio Grider followed up with hits, loading the bags with no outs. Wes Darvill plated another with a ground-ball out. Carlton Tanabe continued the hit parade with a single to bring Rohm in.

Winnipeg padded the lead in the third, once again making Fargo-Moorhead pay for a leadoff walk. Once again, it was Romanski with the RBI single. The Goldeyes would add three more on a bases-loaded walk to Grider, followed by Tanabe’s two-out, two-run single to make it 7-1.

Fargo-Moorhead scored three in the fifth inning and chased Goldeyes starter Edwin Carl, but Willie Cabrera’s two-run home run in the sixth inning would give them some breathing room. Winnipeg put it away in the eighth with another seven runs, courtesy of bases-loaded walks to Cabrera and Abercrombie, a Romanski three-run double and RBI singles by Rohm and Darvill.

The Goldeyes still own the wild-card playoff spot with three games left in the regular season. Laredo is one-game back with four to play (including Friday night’s game which was ongoing at press time). The Goldeyes’ magic number is now 3, meaning that’s how many wins and/or Laredo losses Winnipeg needs to clinch.

Winnipeg still has a shot at winning the North Division, as they trail St. Paul by three games. Because the Goldeyes own the tiebreaker, Winnipeg could overtake St. Paul if they win their final three while the Saints drop their last three.

“You can’t look for out of town help. We’ve got to win games ourselves. You really can’t lose your way into the post-season. You have to win your way in there,” Forney told the Free Press prior to the game. He predicted the RedHawks were not going to roll over this weekend, even though their playoff hopes have been snuffed out.

“They would like nothing more than to make sure we don’t make it,” said Forney. He said the players were excited about the fact they control their own fate this long weekend.

Game 2 of the series goes today at 6 p.m.

FISH HOOKS: Friday was a banner day for a trio of Goldeyes. Outfielder Willie Cabrera and first basemen David Rohm were named to the American Association’s postseason all-star team. Cabrera is hitting .320 with 17 home runs and 76 RBI (second in the league). Rohm is batting .340 (fourth in the league) with seven home runs and 71 RBI (fourth).

Outfielder Abercrombie was named the AA’s inaugural Man of the Year. The award is in honour of Fargo-Moorhead radio broadcaster Scott Miller and Wichita bench coach Brian Rose, both of whom passed away following battles with melanoma.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca