Martinez' Key Triple Leads Railcats To Fourth Straight Victory

August 19, 2016 - American Association (AA)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release

GARY, IN- Frank Martinez hit a two-RBI triple with two outs in the third inning and the Gary SouthShore RailCats (43-42) rolled from there to a 4-1 win over the Wichita Wingnuts (52-32).

The victory was the RailCats' fourth straight and helped them keep pace with division-leader Sioux City and gain a game on Lincoln. Gary SouthShore is 2.5 games out of first place in the American Association's Central Division with 15 games remaining in the season.

Taylor Black earned the win in his fifth start of the season. The right-handed Texan struck out a season-high five batters and did not issue a walk. He tossed six innings and allowed only one run on seven hits.

Eddie Medina was charged with the loss after lasting 6.1 innings and giving up four runs on six hits. The St. John's product struck out six and walked one batter.

Both pitchers cruised until the third inning. John Holland started the bottom half of the inning with a base hit. He moved up two bases on wild pitches as Chase Harris came up with one out. Harris hit a weak line drive that fell in front of the left fielder for a RBI single. The next batter, Colin Willis, hit into a fielder's choice that retired Harris to make it two outs. Tony Cheky walked to bring up Martinez. The RailCats' RBI leader added to his season total with a hard-hit ground ball that hugged the right field foul line. Willis and Cheky scored easily and Martinez slid into third for his third triple of the year.

The Wingnuts got one run back in the top of the fourth. TJ Mittelstaedt hit a triple and scored on a double by Nick Van Stratten. The RBI double was a ground ball that hit the third base bag and hopped over EJ Devarie's head into left field.

The score remained 3-1 until the RailCats struck again in the seventh. Holland was hit by a pitch with one out and scored on a double by Andy DeJesus. The RailCats loaded the bases in the eighth inning but Luis Pardo struck out Martinez to end the threat.

Lars Liguori and Santiago Rodriguez each pitched one inning of scoreless relief before Jorge de Leon came on for the ninth. The RailCats' closer tossed a perfect frame to record his seventh save. It was the fourth straight day de Leon pitched.

The RailCats tallied four extra-base hits, which brought their total to 13 in the last three games. Their four-game winning streak ties their season high and is the longest streak of the year at US Steel Yard.

The two teams continue their series tomorrow night with first pitch at 7:10 PM. Coverage begins at 6:45 PM on 95.9 WEFM and railcatsbaseball.com.

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