Fish on a roll

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This article was published 05/08/2019 (2278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s time for the Winnipeg Goldeyes to go fishing for some wins.

The Fish are back at home today for the first time in more than a week, beginning a benchmark three-game series at Shaw Park against the Lincoln Saltdogs.

Winnipeg didn’t fare so well when the teams first met in the beginning of July. During that three-game series in Nebraska, the Fish experienced their first series sweep of the season. It wasn’t close offensively either — over the three games, they were outscored 18-4.

But a lot has changed with the team since they last met the Saltdogs.

In the 20 games since the sweep, the Fish boast a 13-7 record — including a seven-game win streak.

Last week, Goldeyes manager Rick Forney told the Free Press that Lincoln was a turning point for the team.

“We’re night-and-day different than we were when we went to Lincoln. Obviously we struggled hard, for many reasons. The travel down there is not easy and getting off the bus and playing is super difficult,” he said.

“We struggled there and it took us a little while to get comfortable. As soon as we left Lincoln and got into St. Paul, offence just kind of clicked in and we were getting contributions from everybody in the lineup.”

Home-field advantage may also benefit the Fish in this series matchup. Currently, Winnipeg has a 24-12 home win record — second best in the league. Only the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks have a better home record, two games up on the Fish (41-31) after beating the Goldeyes 7-1 in Fargo Monday.

But while a series win over Lincoln this week would definitely bolster the team’s confidence, the Goldeyes will still have a lot of work to do if they plan on remaining in playoff contention.

They’re sitting at fourth place in the North Division, 4.5 games back of the first-place RedHawks. The Chicago Dogs sit just above the Goldeyes in third, three games back of the lead entering Monday’s play. The St. Paul Saints are in second and currently hold the other playoff spot in the North Division.

With just 27 games left in the regular season, every game needs to be treated as do-or-die for the Fish. Next week, series against the Chicago Dogs and St. Paul Saints are going to be critical. On the off chance two teams are tied for second at the end of the season, the team with the better head-to-head record will earn the playoff spot.

After the Goldeyes’ three-game homestand against Lincoln, the Fish will play six games on the road. Tonight, the first pitch will be thrown at Shaw Park at 7:05 p.m.

devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @devonshewchuk