Goldeyes fall 9-4 to Saltdogs

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This article was published 31/05/2024 (518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it rained, it poured on Grant Townsend.

As a large rain cloud began to roll over downtown Winnipeg in the seventh inning of Friday’s contest against the Lincoln Saltdogs, the Goldeyes reliever was amid a storm of his own on the baseball diamond.

Townsend assumed a 3-2 lead from starting pitcher Travis Seabrooke, who tossed 6 2/3 strong innings with four strikeouts, and watched it disappear on two swings. First was Saltdogs left fielder Aaron Takacs, who sent a long blast over the right field wall for a grand slam.

A couple of batters later, centerfielder Nick Anderson sent a three-run shot over the wall in left to blow it open just before a 44-minute rain delay sent the teams to the locker room.

The Saltdogs held on for a 9-4 victory to take the first of a three-game weekend series.

Townsend was dinged for five earned runs on four hits and one walk while recording one out.

“Unfortunate for him,” said manager Logan Watkins. “The storm rolled right in and the wind started blowing out right when he came in the game. At the same time, I think he would be the first to say he shouldn’t have walked the first guy he faced and put himself in a tough spot, but that’s baseball. It happens.

“Other than that, I felt like we played a pretty good game today, all things considered,” he continued. “One inning completely changes the game.”

The Goldeyes fell to 9-11 and the Saltdogs improved to 8-12 as both clubs are a fifth of the way through the 100-game season in the American Association.

While the performance on the mound late in games has been inconsistent, the Fish have found their stroke at the plate. Friday’s outing was the third game in a row that the team has combined for at least nine hits.

After being stymied by Saltdogs starter Jack Parisi for four innings, the hosts broke out in the fifth, beginning with Max Murphy driving in two runs on a double. Murphy, who finished three-for-four with a walk, has settled in after a slow start and is riding an eight-game hit streak, which includes 14 hits and 12 RBI.

Later in the fifth frame, Miles Simmingon drove in Murphy to give the Fish a 3-2 lead. Kevin Garcia helped the cause by going two-for-three with a walk.

“It’s good to see the fruits of your labour pay off,” said Simmington, who was two-for-three with two walks in the contest. “Just a tough couple of series I had but, like I said, it’s baseball. It’s a long season just to be able to have the reset every single day, every single day is a new day.”

This one, though it stings, will be easy to flush, Watkins said.

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“If you look at the game, I think we outplayed them for eight innings. They just got a couple of guys on base and put two good swings on balls that I’m not sure would have been out had the wind not been blowing… but immediately we responded, scored a run, got some hits and then made it interesting in the ninth inning.

“I think that kind of answers if we can bounce back or not.”

The Goldeyes will continue a six-game home stand on Saturday against the Saltdogs (6 p.m.). Colton Eastman will start for the Fish.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.