Goldeyes crush Redhawks to open West Division Final

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This article was published 09/09/2024 (632 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was no tepid start to a short playoff series this time around for the surging Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Instead, the club came out swinging on Monday night in North Dakota, jumping all over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks early and often and grabbing Game 1 of the West Division final to the tune of 10-1.

Just like that, the Fish are on the cusp of playing for an American Association championship for the first time since capturing a second consecutive title — and fourth in franchise history — back in 2017.

Winnipeg can close out the best-of-three series on Wednesday night at Blue Cross Park (6:30 p.m. CT). If Fargo-Moorhead can stave off elimination, a winner-take-all contest will be played Thursday evening at the downtown ballpark.

The Goldeyes began their post-season run last Wednesday with a whimper, dropping a 5-0 decision to the Sioux Falls Canaries that quickly put them on the brink. Things really looked bleak through the first five innings of last Friday’s must-win game in Winnipeg as the Goldeyes fell behind 3-1.

However, the offence got hot just in the nick of time and is showing no signs of slowing down. A 7-3 come-from-behind victory in Game 2 of the divisional semi-final was followed up with a 10-3 rout 24 hours later. And now, a lopsided result that puts the RedHawks in a big hole.

That makes it Winnipeg 26, Opponents 4 over the last 22 innings of baseball after the Goldeyes were outscored 8-1 in the first 14 innings.

This is the 12th playoff edition of the “Red River Rivalry,” with the most recent taking place in 2022. Fargo-Moorhead won that opening-round series two games to one. The RedHawks, who finished third in the West Division this year with a 53-47 record and beat Sioux City in the first round, also had a 7-5 record against the first-place Goldeyes (56-43) this season.

They got an early jump on Monday, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Winnipeg loaded the bases with just one out at the top of the frame but came up empty after catcher Rob Emery struck out, and first baseman Roby Enriquez flew out.

A troubling sign of things to come? Not even close.

Outfielder Evan Alexander, making his Goldeyes playoff debut against the team that put him on waivers earlier this year, drew a one-out walk in the top of the second inning, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and later scored on a sacrifice fly from third baseman Dayson Croes.

Shortstop Ramon Bramasco then gave the visitors the lead with a two-run homer to left field that was aided by a gusty wind and just cleared the fence. It’s the fifth homer of the playoffs for Winnipeg, all coming in the last three (two-and-a-half, really) games.

Enriquez ripped an RBI triple, following Alexander’s RBI double to make it 5-1 in the bottom of the third. That was the end of the night for Fargo-Moorhead starter Orlando Rodriguez, with the RedHawks bullpen being pressed into early duty.

Winnipeg added two more in the fourth inning courtesy of RBI singles from Emery and Enriquez, and then Croes plated runs in the fifth and seventh with base hits to turn this into a laugher. An RBI groundout by outfielder Miles Simington in the ninth put them into double-digits for a second outing in a row.

That was more than enough run support for Winnipeg starter Joey Matulovich. The undisputed team ace shook off a shaky Game 1 appearance in Sioux Falls with the kind of outing you’d expect from the league’s top pitcher, who had the most strikeouts and lowest earned-run-average this season.

Striking out the side in the bottom of the second was a sure sign of that. Matulovich ultimately went six innings, giving up just one run on five hits with seven punchouts and no walks. The bullpen took care of business the rest of the way.

The Goldeyes finished the game with 15 hits. Croes and Bramasco, the top two batters in the order, each had three, as did Enriquez.

In the East Division: The Kane County Cougars beat the Chicago Dogs 5-2 on Monday. They’ll now have a chance to close out the series at home on Wednesday. The best-of-five league Miles Wolff Cup championship between the East and West winners begins this weekend, with the lower seed hosting the first two games (Saturday and Sunday) and the higher seed the final three (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Of the four teams still in the hunt, Winnipeg is the No. 1 seed.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg