Cats sweep Tuesday doubleheader against Dogs with pair of 5-1 wins
Published on August 21, 2018 under American Association (AA)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Gary SouthShore RailCats swept the Chicago Dogs in Tuesday's doubleheader at Impact Field with a pair of 5-1 victories. Tuesday's wins put Gary just 1/2 a game behind the St. Paul Saints for first place in the North Division and extends the RailCats lead over the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks for the second and final playoff spot in the division.
Gary (50-37) scored the first run of the series with a two-out run in the first. Tillman Pugh recorded the first hit of the game with a two-out infield single to second, increasing his on-base streak to 32 games. Colin Willis followed Pugh with an RBI triple to the left-center wall, bringing Pugh around to score all the way from first.
The RailCats increased their lead to 3-0 with a pair of two-out runs in the second. Andy De Jesus singled off the top of the right field wall with two outs before D.K. Carey brought him home with an RBI double to right-center. Will Savage then made it 3-0 with an RBI double off the top of the right-center wall, plating Carey from second.
Chicago (38-49) got on the board in game one with a two-out run in the third. Robi Silva reached on a fielder's choice before advancing to third on a double from Trey Vavra. Joe Benson then drew a walk before Stephen Perez brought home Silva on a fielder's choice.
Gary went up 5-1 with two more runs in the fifth. Pugh doubled off the center field wall for with one out for his second hit before Willis blasted a two-run home run on to the right field concourse.
Lars Liguori (3-8) recorded his first win as a starter this season after allowing just one in his first American Association complete game performance. The southpaw retired the final seven batters he faced in game one and yielded four hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five. Josh Goossen-Brown (6-7) was charged with the loss in game one after allowing five runs on eight hits, a pair of walks and struck out a batter over 5.1 innings.
Willis gave the RailCats the lead again in game two with a solo home run on to the right field concourse in the fourth. The homer was his second of the evening and his team-high eighth of the year.
Gary went up by five in the fifth on Randy Santiesteban's two-out grand slam. De Jesus reached on an infield single to begin the inning before Sonny Cortez moved De Jesus up to second with a sacrifice bunt. Carey then singled to center before Cole Fabio drew a walk. Two batters later, Santiesteban pulled the eighth pitch of the at-bat against Dogs starter Jared Carkuff on to the left field concourse for his seventh homer of the year and the first RailCats grand slam of the season.
Chicago avoided being shutout in game two with their only run in the sixth. Silva singled to right to begin the inning but a fielding error by Carey in right allowed him to advance up to second. Silva then stole third before scoring on Dalton Blaser's sacrifice fly to left.
Jorge De Leon went a season-high 3.1 innings in his first start of the year and just his second start in the last two seasons in game two. The former MLB pitcher yielded just three hits, walked one and struck out four in a no-decision.
Mario Samuel (1-0) recorded his first professional win in game two after striking out two of the three batters he faced in 0.2 hitless innings of relief while Carkuff (5-5) took the loss in game two. The right-hander allowed five runs on six hits, two walks and four strikeouts over 4.2 innings.
Gary and Chicago play one another for the final time on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. RailCats right-hander Keaton Steele (4-4, 2.77) opposes Dogs left-hander Tommy Thorpe (2-4, 2.70) in the series finale.
Gary returns home on Thursday for a doubleheader against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks after the two teams were postponed in Fargo, N.D., back on July 19th. Game one will begin at 5 p.m. with game two following 30 minutes after the completion of game one. Thursday features a Throwback Jersey Auction, presented by Rieth-Riley, and is another Beer and Dog Thursday, presented by Miller Lite & GFS, and a Gerber Collision and Glass Thursday. Beer and Dog Thursday's include $2.50 hot dogs, $1.50 domestic drafts and $3.00 select premium drafts.
Jared Shlensky and Brennan Mense bring you all 100 RailCats game this season on WEFM (95.9 FM) and online at railcatsbaseball.com. Ticket packages for the 2018 Gary SouthShore RailCats season are available online at railcatsbaseball.com and can also be purchased by calling the RailCats ticket line at (219) 882-BALL. The RailCats box office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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