Another Strong Start Extends Streak to Three

Published on May 16, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Grand Prairie AirHogs News Release


GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Just like in Sunday's game against Gary SouthShore, the Grand Prairie AirHogs got into an early hole against the Lincoln Saltdogs on Monday night. But just like the previous day, the AirHogs got a five-spot early on, and their starting pitcher - on this occasion righty John Brownell - pitched well and Grand Prairie cruised to a 6-3 victory in front of 1,167 fans at QuikTrip Park.

After Blake Gailen and Gavin Dickey singled to start the game, they executed a double steal and Brownell (1-0) walked Phil Hawke to load the bases. But the AirHogs' righty escaped major damage, striking out Jon Nelson and allowing a sacrifice fly to Maikel Jova before Curt Smith grounded out to end the inning.

Grand Prairie (3-2) wasted two hits in the bottom of the first against Lindsay Gulin (0-2), but a two-out walk to number nine hitter Jake Taylor to load the bases in the second came back to hurt the Lincoln lefty right away. The next hitter, David Espinosa, drove a 1-2 pitch to the left-center field wall for a bases-clearing triple to put the AirHogs on top 3-1. He was followed by a first-pitch bunt single down the third-base line by Danny Figueroa and Cesar Nicolas's double to right to give the AirHogs a 5-1 lead.

An inning later, leftfielder David Thomas turned on an inside pitch from Gulin and drilled it over the wall in left for his first home run of the season, upping Grand Prairie's margin to five.

Meanwhile, Brownell was locked in as he retired 14 in a row and 17 of 18 until with two outs in the sixth, he hit Nelson in the face with a pitch. After the Saltdogs' designated hitter left the field, Jova added two more RBIs with a home run to left that just cleared the wall to cut Lincoln's deficit to three.

But Brownell got the final eight of the sixth and pitched a perfect seventh, finishing with one walk, six strikeouts (including one stretch of four in a row) and just four hits allowed. The AirHogs bullpen did the rest, as Dustin Cameron pitched a perfect eighth and Jon Hunton held Lincoln (2-3) to a two-out walk in the ninth for his third straight save.

Notes: The AirHogs have now surrendered the final run in all five games this season...The Saltdogs only made five outfield outs...The AirHogs have scored 16 of their 22 runs this season in the second and third innings....Brownell completed one turn through the Grand Prairie rotation where each starter went at least into the sixth inning.

Once again, the AirHogs are reminding you to sign up for their new text messaging service. Simply text "gpairhogs" (one word, no quotation marks) to 90210 and receive a special thank-you gift for signing up - $5 off any ticket for the AirHogs opening homestand from May 12-18. Simply show the message you receive back when you buy your ticket.

The AirHogs continue their three-game series, with the Lincoln Saltdogs at 10:35 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17 for the first of two Education Days. It is also $2 Tuesday, with box seats available for just $2. Don't miss the renewed commitment to excellence and affordable family entertainment. All games are available with live, free streaming video on ustream.tv. Individual game tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling 972-504-9383 or by visiting www.airhogsbaseball.com.

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American Association Stories from May 16, 2011


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