Goldeyes’ bats sing against Canaries

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This article was published 28/08/2017 (2939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s Winnipeg’s Mr. Clutch.

When the Goldeyes needed someone to nail down a victory in the fifth and deciding game of the 2016 American Association championship series, Kevin McGovern was their man.

When scheduled starter Zack Dodson was unable to go Sunday afternoon, Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney turned to his ace once again for the finale of a three-game series with the Sioux Falls Canaries — and McGovern delivered.

Pitching on three days’ rest, the 28-year-old lefty from Philadelphia went seven innings, giving up three hits, three runs and two walks while striking out seven to help the Goldeyes to an 8-3 victory over the Canaries before 4,907 sun-drenched spectators at Shaw Park.

“It’s something where I’ll pitch on short rest if the team needs it,” said McGovern, who improved to 12-3 with a 2.69 ERA. “It was pretty sudden because someone was scheduled to start today and I found out a few hours before… So, I had to mentally prep… It was a little bit tougher for me today. I struggled out there a little bit, but our bats came alive. It’s a lot easier pitching with a lead, and I just wanted to give them as many innings as I could.”

The Fish, who improved to 57-36, have a four-game lead over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks atop the North Division with seven games remaining in the regular season. Winnipeg finishes up with games in St. Paul, Minn., against the Saints on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before a season-ending series against the visiting RedHawks Sept. 1 to 4. Fargo-Moorhead kept pace Sunday with a 6-5 win over St. Paul in 11 innings.

The Canaries dropped to 41-51 and are last in the North, 15½ games behind Winnipeg. The hosts swept the three-game series, including a wild 14-8 slugfest Saturday night.

On Sunday, Winnipeg pounded out 15 hits and took a first-inning lead it never relinquished.

“We’ve always had a good offence, so that helps us a lot,” shortstop Andrew Sohn said. “Pitching’s been there. We’ve gotta focus on the defensive side a little bit, make the routine plays and help the pitchers out. We limit them to three, four, five runs, and I think our offence can put up at least six or seven a game.”

Winnipeg’s offence is a fearsome hitting machine. Three Goldeyes (Shawn Pleffner, .337; Josh Romanski, .332; and David Bergin, .328) are first, second and fifth, respectively, in American Association hitting while Wes Darvill (.310) and Sohn (.309) are 12th and 13th overall.

The Goldeyes, nursing a 3-1 lead, broke the game open in the fourth inning on a two-run double from Romanski and a run-scoring single from Pleffner. Bergin then doubled Pleffner home to give the hosts a 7-1 lead.

Canaries DH Mike Falsetti responded in the fifth inning with his second home run of the season, a mammoth shot over the wall in left centre, but McGovern settled down after that.

“I just attacked the zone on a guy that doesn’t have too many home runs,” McGovern said. “He put a good swing on it in a day game and hats off to him, but I’m going to pitch to the lead and I’m going to pitch and throw strikes. I’m not going to give free bases, so they’re going to have to earn it.”

Kenny Mathews and Ryan Chaffee each pitched one inning of hitless, scoreless relief for the Fish. Canaries starter Miles Nordgren, who fell to 5-7, allowed 13 hits, seven runs, one walk and struck out one in a four-inning stint.

Sohn said the pressure to clinch first in the division and earn the highest possible seed in the post-season is motivation enough.

The Lincoln Saltdogs, who are 55-35 and leading the Central Division, lost 9-4 to the Sioux City Explorers on Sunday and fell two percentage points behind Winnipeg in the race for first overall and home-field advantage for the playoffs.

“We’re taking it day by day, trying to win every game,” Sohn said. “Fargo’s out there busting their ass, they’re trying to win every game, too. So we’ve got to keep rollin’ like we are. Hopefully we can clinch soon.”

Having a reliable, go-to pitcher such as McGovern was a huge benefit.

“It’s awesome,” Sohn said. “He pounds the zone, throws strikes, a lot of strikeouts. He’s a competitor. He’s going to give you seven innings at least, every outing. It’s definitely fun playing behind him… That’s the kind of pitcher he is — a workhorse. Going on three days’ rest, that’s tough this late in the season. Big props to him today, helping the team out.”

McGovern felt fortunate to last as long as he did.

“I definitely felt like I was struggling a little bit,” McGovern said. “My arm was a little bit slower on the short rest. I had a good defence behind me and I tried to throw a lot of strikes. It felt like a pretty good outing. I usually try to get to the seventh, eighth inning as much as I can. I was happy to do that.”

NOTEWORTHY: If the Goldeyes were to win their remaining seven games, they would match a franchise-best record of 63-37, which was established during the 2014 regular season.

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