Struggling Goldeyes running out of time in regular season

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This article was published 11/07/2018 (2664 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

American Association playoff races are never settled in July, but with the Winnipeg Goldeyes passing the halfway mark of the 2018 season earlier this week, the clock is ticking on the two-time defending league champs.

Winnipeg is six games under .500 and 51/2 games out of first place in the North Division after Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries before 3,490 fans at Shaw Park.

The Fish, losers of 14 of their past 18 games, entered Wednesday’s action seventh in hitting (.261), 10th in pitching (4.65 ERA) and ninth in fielding (.970).

A sputtering offence, spotty starting pitching and a rash of injuries have combined to land the Fish in fourth place in the North Division. But right-handed starting pitcher Alex Boshers insists it’s far too early to write them off.

“We’ve just crossed over the halfway point,” Boshers said prior to Wednesday’s game. “Nobody’s out of it. No matter where you look, nobody’s out of it. I’m pretty confident we can get on a streak here and get moving.”

Winnipeg opened the regular season with a fearsome starting rotation, including proven arms such as Boshers, Kevin McGovern, Edwin Carl, Shane Dawson and Charle Rosario. Dawson and Carl are now sidelined with long-term injuries and Rosario recently departed to accept an offer in Mexico, which left the remaining vets to pick up the slack.

On Wednesday, the Goldeyes’ weary bullpen caught a break when starter Mitch Lambson (3-2) tossed a superb complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six.

It was Winnipeg’s first shutout of 2018.

Boshers, who got the start, but a no-decision in Winnipeg’s marathon 18-inning 4-2 loss to Sioux Falls on Tuesday afternoon, is 2-5 with a 5.65 ERA in 11 starts and 63 2/3 innings.

Lefty McGovern is 3-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 11 starts and 70 1/3 innings.

“I felt like that was the expectation from Day 1, that the five guys we showed up with were expected to be the ones we rolled with all year long,” Boshers said. “Obviously, nobody expected Charle to leave, Edwin and Dawson getting hurt. Those are things we didn’t expect to happen. I think skip’s (manager Rick Forney) leaning on me and Kevin a little more than he wants to, but that’s OK.

“Me and him have been in this league long enough and done this where we know what we need to do. We know we need to step up a little bit.”

Boshers is still hoping to regain the form that made him a key member of Wichita’s league finalists in 2016 and 2017.

“The days that I’ve had really good performances are days where I’ve been in the strike zone a comfortable amount of times, I’m mixing up, down and out, wasting pitches when I have to,” Boshers said. “The days that have been bad have been when I just have nothing. All my off-speed (stuff) just isn’t acting like I want it to, it isn’t moving like I expect it to and I’m way too much in the zone.”

Don’t underestimate the impact of season-ending injuries to shortstop Andrew Sohn and catcher Kevin Garcia. Gavin Stupienski and newcomer Tyler Baker are a two-man committee filling the void left by Garcia.

“You get tight with a catcher who understands you and knows exactly what you want to do, and all of a sudden, ‘Hey, we’ve got another guy,’” Boshers said.

“I’m good with Gavin, he handles us well, and Baker’s doing really well in my personal opinion. He handles us well and knows the staff. But there’s that first week or so of a new guy trying to learn everyone.”

Winnipeg’s offence got a big boost on June 21 with the return of 2017 league MVP Josh Romanski from a stint in Mexico. Romanski has been excellent, hitting .390 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 21 games, but he believes his team needs a break.

He went 2-for-4 with an RBI against the Canaries.

Wednesday’s game was Winnipeg’s 27th consecutive without a day off. The Fish don’t get a scheduled break until Monday.

“Obviously, when guys go down you have to do something to fill that spot,” Romanski said. “But yes, as far as the injuries go, it’s definitely unusual. It’s getting to the the point where this is tough to handle… We’re in the middle of a 31-day grind and we’re losing those guys and we’re losing some big parts, too.

“The crazy thing is as bad as we’ve played, we’re only (51/2) games back right now of the division leader.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14