Fish capitalize on miscues to beat Canaries

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This article was published 02/06/2016 (3776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a strange thing when it happens, but there’s no way around it: sometimes, the team that deserves to win isn’t the one that actually does it.

Consider the Goldeyes’ 3-2 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries Wednesday night. On most of the numbers, the Fish trailed. The visitors racked up 10 hits, while the Fish managed just three. Sioux Falls stranded six runners on base, which is the sum total the Goldeyes reached in the game.

The Canaries’ starting pitcher, Madison Boer, went a full seven innings and allowed only those three Goldeyes hits, and just one earned run. He walked two, struck out three, and generally got the job done.

Yet thanks to a bungled play by Sioux Falls in the bottom of the fourth, the Fish eked out their second win of the series. That lifted their record to 8-5 on the season, while the Canaries fell back to 6-7. That’s baseball sometimes — a couple of mistakes can bring the best-laid plans down.

As the numbers suggest, it wasn’t an action-packed game. Nor was it a particularly nice night for baseball, with the clouds hanging heavy and the stands sitting damp. Official attendance stood at 3,239, and those intrepid fans were rewarded with a brisk 153-minute game and a win.

It was a nice chaser after Tuesday night’s game, a marathon that stretched to almost five hours. The Goldeyes lost that one 8-6 in the 13th inning, which could suck the wind out of anyone’s sails. Still, they came back the next day and kept slugging.

Though the Goldeyes’ lead was razor-tight Wednesday, it was helped by a sturdy performance by starter Duke Von Schamann. The righty had a tough start to the season, and came into the game holding a 0-1 record and a 9.00 ERA after his first two games.

In the second of that first pair of outings, the former Cleveland Indians farmhand was lit up by opponents and then took a ball to the arm in the second inning, which forced him to leave the game; on the way back from the road trip, manager Rick Forney agreed Von Schamann was “struggling.”

He sure looked to have righted the ship Wednesday night. The visitors did score on the very first pitch of the third inning, which Canaries second baseman Frank Martinez blasted for a solo home run. Other than that, while Von Schamann was on the mound he managed to keep them penned.

The Goldeyes found their own scores in the bottom of the fourth. The first one came thanks to the efforts of shortstop Maikol Gonzalez, who hit a single, and left-fielder Josh Romanski, who clubbed a double to drive Gonzalez home.

That frame got richer during right-fielder David Rohm’s at bat. Romanski and first baseman Jacob Rogers, who’d taken a walk, each scored unearned runs when Sioux Falls catcher Nolan Johnson and RF Ozney Guillen bungled the ball for a pair of errors. Rohm struck out, but the Fish were now leading 3-1.

Von Schamann retired from the mound in the seventh inning after giving up two consecutive singles. He finished having given up seven hits, a walk and two runs in 6 1/3 innings, while striking out four. He was credited with the win, and his season ERA improved to 6.28.

After he left, southpaw Eric Eadington came out of the pen to face a couple of batters. Sioux Falls outfielder Guillen snapped an RBI single (the run counted against Von Schamann) and narrowed the Fish lead to 3-2. Forney then called on righty Brandon Shimo, who stamped a K on the third out.

❚ In other news: Designated hitter Adam Heisler went 0-for-4 Wednesday night, ending his on-base streak at 12 games.

Closer Jailen Peguero, who was brilliant in Monday’s home opener, was a force to be reckoned with again Wednesday. In the ninth, the Dominican pitcher sat the Canaries down in order, polishing the game off by striking out Sioux Falls catcher Nolan Johnson and second baseman Martinez.

❚ UP NEXT: The Goldeyes will look to clinch the series by winning this morning’s tilt, with first pitch set for 11:05 a.m; righty Edwin Carl gets the start for the Fish. After that, they’ll host the Lincoln Saltdogs and a familiar face, iconic former Fish catcher Luis Alen, for three games Friday to Sunday. Expect an emotional Friday night meeting.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca