Goldeyes beat RailCats to stretch win streak to four games before break

Perhaps the only thing that can slow down the Winnipeg Goldeyes these days is the American Association schedule.

The club is playing its best baseball of the season, rattling off four straight wins including an 8-5 decision on Sunday afternoon over the Gary SouthShore RailCats at sweltering Blue Cross Park in front of 2,688 sun-soaked spectators.

Winnipeg is now 25-26 on the year, which represents the closest they’ve been to .500 since back in early June.

However, the pursuit of a fifth straight triumph will have to wait until Friday. A four-day break is now upon them to allow for the league’s all-star game which will be played on Wednesday in Lincoln.

“It’s bitter-sweet,” admitted outfielder Noah Marcelo. “When you’re hot you want to keep rolling.”

The Fish have scored 60 runs over the last six games — five of them wins — which is a major part of the recent turnaround. But there are some positive signs when it comes to pitching, which has been a sore spot for much of the season.

The latest example came Sunday when reliever-turned-starter Ryo Kohigashi went six strong innings, striking out seven and giving up just one run off a solo homer. The 28-year-old lefty from Japan has made a compelling case to be the unexpected ace of the staff, now with a personal 4-2 record and a tidy 3.23 earned run average.

Gary did make it interesting in the later innings, hitting three more dingers (accounting for four runs overall) off Winnipeg’s bullpen, but the offence supplied more than enough punch to put this one away.

Marcelo drove in his team-leading 45th run of the year, while the red-hot Ray-Patrick Didder went deep for a third straight game to pull into a tie with Marcelo (10) for the team lead.

Second-baseman Adam Hall had a pair of RBIs to go along with a terrific defensive play. Designated hitter Keshawn Lynch drove in a pair as well, while third baseman Ramon Bramasco and right-fielder Max Murphy also had run-scoring knocks.

Speaking of Murphy, the veteran slugger might be the one Goldeyes player who can benefit from the most by a brief pause of the season. He’s really been struggling of late, to put it mildly.

“I’m sure he feels like he’s pressing a little bit and putting some extra pressure on himself,” manager Logan Watkins told the Free Press. “We need our best players to be our best players. And Max Murphy is one of those players. We need to get him going.”

Watkins has seemingly tried everything, including giving Murphy a day off on Saturday and moving the 33-year-old — who holds the Goldeyes all-time home run and RBI record — further down the lineup.

He was hitting out of the No. 7 spot on Sunday and came to the plate in the first inning with runners on the corners and two out. Murphy rolled over on a pitch, weakly grounding out to end the frame.

That left him with just one hit over his past 30 at-bats.

You could see the obvious relief on Murphy’s face when he stepped to the plate in the sixth inning, with a runner on second, and hit a ball that just evaded the leaping Gary shortstop to fall into left field. His 29th RBI of the year — but just second in the past 10 games — increased Winnipeg’s lead to 4-1 at the time.

Perhaps that’s the kind of break he can take into the break and look to build off.

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“But for some of these other guys, I hope it doesn’t break their momentum because they’re swinging it pretty good right now,” said Watkins.

“One through nine (in the lineup) feels like it can get going at any point, but we’ve got to get Max going. He’s a huge part of this, and he knows that. I’m sure he’s frustrated but super encouraged about the guys picking it up around him.”

Marcelo will have some company at the all-star game, with relief pitchers Derrick Cherry and Eli Saul also joining him in Nebraska.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity. I’m excited to represent Winnipeg and the Goldeyes and have some fun,” said the 25-year-old from California.

They’ll meet the rest of their teammates in Wisconsin on Friday as they get set to begin a series with the Lake Country DockHounds.

“I think we’re going to come back fresh and be ready to rock,’ said Marcelo.

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike 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.