AA Winnipeg Goldeyes

Alen Stuns Canaries

Published on August 12, 2015 under American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release


One swing of Luis Alen's bat and an evening of disappointment and discontent was immediately erased.

Alen blasted a long, two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Winnipeg Goldeyes a shocking 3-2 victory over the visiting Canaries.

"He threw me a fastball, a two-seamer," said Alen, who had a 1-0 count when he connected. "It was a little in and I pulled my hands through it."

The Goldeyes had just spent eight innings being hogtied by Sioux Falls starter Shawn Blackwell, who had allowed no runs on only four hits. But in the ninth, Casey Haerther was hit by a pitch, went to second on a ground out, went to third on a ground out and with two down, scored on an infield singled by Tillman Pugh. That's when Pugh watched Alen's home run clear the leftfield screen.

"That's the most fun I've had in a long time," Pugh said. "Standing at first base, I heard the crack of the bat and thought, 'Hey, we have a chance,' and when I watched it go over the wall, I can't really tell you how good it felt. That was a lot of fun, man."

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Goldeyes as the Fish improved to 34-40 on the season - 15-19 at home.

The victory also gave manager Rick Forney his 524th career win with the Goldeyes. That breaks the record for career wins (523) set by his mentor Hal Lanier.

"That's why there are 27 outs," said Forney after the game. "We haven't been able to come back on too many occasions this season, but this was a pretty exciting way to win. They (the Canaries) made a big decision in the ninth to leave the starter out there. He was pitching on fumes and Luis hit a mistake. Our guys just never gave up."

Blackwell came into Tuesday night's game with a 2-7 record and a 4.15 earned run average, but outside a bases-loaded threat in the fourth, he owned the Goldeyes until the ninth.

In the meantime, Sioux Falls scored two runs in the first inning on a leadoff home run by Chris Grayson and an RBI double by Brian Humphries and then, that was it. Goldeyes starter Kyle Anderson gave up a homer, single, single and double to the first four hitters he faced and then allowed only two scattered singles after that.

"After they got those first four hits, I just decided I'd start the game over," Anderson said. "Luis came out and told me to quit aiming the ball and start going for it. I just decided to fill up the strike zone and try to stop the bleeding as best I could."

It worked. The Goldeyes finished with three runs on six hits, while Sioux Falls had two runs on seven hits. Alen, the Goldeyes all-time leader in RBI, homered and drove in two, including the winner. Reggie Abercrombie had a pair of hits in four trips, while Pugh, who struggled in his first three at bats, had an RBI infield single in the ninth and scored the tying run.

Jailen Peguero (4-2, 3.92 ERA), who was the last pitcher of the evening for Winnipeg, got the win, while Blackwell (2-8, 4.05 ERA) was the loser. Anderson pitched eight strong innings while Brad Mincey, Brendan Lafferty and Peguero combined to pitch a scoreless ninth.

The Goldeyes and Canaries will play Game 2 of this three-game series on Tuesday night at Shaw Park. Righthander Edwin Carl (1-0, 4.26 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg while Lefthander Miguel Pena (6-5, 3.14 ERA) will take to the mound for Sioux Falls.

Tickets for all Goldeyes home games in 2015 are available through Ticketmaster by clicking on Goldeyes.com, calling 1-855-GOLDEYE or visiting any Ticketmaster location, including the Shaw Park box office.

Check out the Winnipeg Goldeyes Statistics



American Association Stories from August 12, 2015


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