Fish will need to reel off two more wins at home

THE ace did his part on the mound, save for a couple of costly mistakes.

Unfortunately for the Winnipeg Goldeyes and starting pitcher Landen Bourassa, a normally red-hot offence picked a bad time to go ice cold.

The end result was a 5-1 loss Wednesday night in North Dakota to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, a defeat that quickly put the Fish on the brink of playoff elimination.

Winnipeg trails the best-of-three first-round series 1-0 and will now have to rattle off two straight victories to keep its season alive.

Goldeyes open three-game playoff series in Fargo

The Winnipeg Goldeyes return to post-season action tonight for the first time since their trip to the Miles Wolff Cup Final in 2024.

First pitch in Game 1 of the West Division series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Fargo, N.D., against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

Here’s a breakdown of what to know as the best-of-three series begins at Newman Outdoor Field.

By the numbers

Goldeyes face rival RedHawks in first round of playoffs

Now the real fun begins.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes have completed the marathon that is the American Association regular season, hitting the finish line Monday afternoon in Kansas City with a 5-1 loss. That leaves the Fish with a 54-46 record, good for second place in the West Division and tied for fourth-best in the 12-team league.

That’s a tidy turnaround from a year ago, when the Fish flopped with a 41-58 record to finish at the bottom of their division and 11th-overall.

Up next? The sprint that is the playoffs, with eight teams looking to reel in the 2026 championship by winning eight high-stakes games over the next three weeks.

Goldeyes back in playoffs and attendance on the rise

Tip your cap to the Winnipeg Goldeyes — they’re having a fantastic season, both on and off the field.

From a pure baseball perspective, the Fish are flying high. Wednesday’s 6-2 victory in Fargo was the latest in a second-half surge that has helped punch their ticket to the American Association playoffs.

Winnipeg has officially locked up a post-season spot, meaning it will play for keeps for the 22nd time in 32 seasons.

The final five games of the regular season — including Thursday’s finale against the RedHawks in North Dakota, followed by four dates in Kansas City from Friday through Monday — will determine the final seeding and the Goldeyes’ first-round opponent.

Murphy embracing leadership role with Goldeyes

A tenure with the Winnipeg Goldeyes was an offer Max Murphy couldn’t refuse.

“I think when I first started playing for the Goldeyes, I was pretty much coming right into my prime,” the 33-year-old veteran said Wednesday before first pitch at Blue Cross Park.

Asked to take a trip down memory lane, the outfielder only had good things to say about his current club, even though the Goldeyes weren’t the first American Association rodeo for the longtime Fish — playing his first three seasons with the St. Paul Saints.

The Robbinsdale, Minn., product started back in 2021 with the Goldeyes, but pinpoints his big breakout moment with the club to the 2022 season when he launched 31 home runs.

Goldeyes attest game-day rituals help their focus on the diamond

It seems the words routine and superstition blend together for the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

While the players have a set pre- and post-game timetable — whether or not they label all game-day routines as superstitions — it’s clear they have their own internal rules that must be followed.

For pitcher James Bradwell, though he believes he doesn’t have any crazy pre-game rituals that need to be upheld, he knows what works and sticks to it.

“I will always put my right sock on before my left, right cleat on before my left,” the North Vancouver product said, having only started these routines after joining the Fish.

Murphy helps Goldeyes battle back to beat Explorers

Max Murphy didn’t hesitate when asked to describe his season so far.

“It’s been terrible,” the veteran Winnipeg Goldeyes outfielder told the Free Press.

Murphy is admittedly critical of himself, the product of a high standard he’s set during a pro baseball career that began in 2014 and has included the past six years with the Fish, where he’s established new franchise records for home runs and RBIs.

So you can imagine the relief felt on Sunday when he looked a lot more like the Murphy of old in leading his team to a 6-2 comeback victory over the Sioux City Explorers to close out a six-game homestand at Blue Cross Park in front of a season-high crowd of 6,825.

Pitcher Bourassa picks up where he left off after return from Mexican club

Landen Bourassa didn’t need two months in Mexico to appreciate Manitoba. The Alberta product, who now lives here full-time, was already a big fan.

But a “unique” experience this summer certainly didn’t hurt.

The veteran Winnipeg Goldeyes pitcher took a professional detour to pursue an intriguing opportunity. Now he’s back on familiar soil, ready to help the Fish make a run at an American Association championship.

“It definitely was bittersweet to be leaving everybody here and leaving home, but you do things to be challenged. And that was a really good challenge,” Bourassa told the Free Press this week at Blue Cross Park.

Fish batter Canaries to climb atop division

You’ve got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good — and the Winnipeg Goldeyes are living proof of that popular phrase these days.

Bringing home a Fish: Group of local baseball fans open doors to Goldeyes

There’s no place like home.

But what exactly does that mean for members of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, who typically find themselves hundreds or even thousands of miles away from family and friends between May and September, trying to keep their baseball careers alive while living on shoestring budgets?

For some, home is a modest downtown hotel room or small apartment typically shared with a teammate or two. For others, there’s a more personal touch — one that truly connects them to the community they happen to be playing in.

Welcome to the world of billets, a longstanding tradition in this market that dates back to when the Fish first took flight back in 1994. They are a unique and valuable tool for the American Association organization and its players, with a dedicated group of local baseball fans who open their doors and roll out the welcome mat year after year.

Fish ‘punch back’ to crush Canaries

The number sticks out like a sore thumb: 41. That’s how many wins the Winnipeg Goldeyes recorded during the 2025 season, tying an all-time low for the storied, 32-year-old franchise. What a difference a year can make.

Fish go cold as Saltdogs put end to franchise record win streak

The Goldeyes went cold for the first time in 13 games Saturday night in Lincoln.

The Saltdogs grabbed a 12-2 win over the visitors, stopping the club’s franchise win streak record at 13.

The Fish still boast a 40-32 record with 27 games left in the regular season. Last year represented a major step back, with a 41-58 record, which led to missing the playoffs entirely. This season, the club has its sights set on first place in the division.

The Goldeyes wrap up the road series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The Fish are back at Blue Cross Park on Tuesday, hosting the Sioux Falls Canaries to begin a six-game homestand.

Goldeyes win franchise record 13th consecutive game

The Winnipeg Goldeyes franchise record win streak continued Friday evening.

The Fish defeated the Lincoln Saltdogs on the road 6-4 for the 13th straight win.

On Thursday night, the club set franchise history with a 12th straight win over the Chicago Dogs at Blue Cross Park.

The Goldeyes are now within two victories of the American Association record of 15, set in 2010 by the Pensacola Pelicans.

Goldeyes win franchise record 12th consecutive game

The 2026 Winnipeg Goldeyes are swimming in uncharted waters.

A 7-5 comeback victory over the Chicago Dogs on Thursday night at Blue Cross Park was no ordinary affair. It marked the 12th straight win by the club, establishing a record for the 32-year-old organization.

“A little bit surreal,” manager Logan Watkins told the Free Press inside the clubhouse.

Historic, too. And maybe a bit shocking.