Dogs Rally Late off a Pair of Homers, Take Game Six 8-6
May 29, 2022 - American Association (AA)
Chicago Dogs News Release
CLEBURNE, TEXAS - In the series finale of a nine game roadtrip, the Chicago Dogs prevailed off of a late-inning rally to overtake the Cleburne Railroaders 9-6.
Third baseman Harrison Smith broke out offensively. He went 2-for4 with four RBI and the game-tying home run in the seventh inning. The Dogs veteran came into the game with a .209 average and .666 OPS, but would not be denied tonight.
Michael Crouse recently returned from injury and found his stroke once again. The center fielder went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored, including the massive go-ahead home run in the seventh.
The scoring kicked off in the second inning. A pair of singles from Ryan Lidge and Grant Kay brought up Harrison Smith, who has struggled to begin the season. Hilton would not get the best of him in this instance. Smith ripped a single that scored both Lidge and Kay thanks to an error from Railroaders first baseman Chase Simpson, which put Chicago up 2-0. That error advanced Smith to second.
Charlie Tilson stepped into the box two batters later. The left fielder continued his hot stretch with a RBI single that brought in Smith. Tilson quickly took second off of a passed ball, and Crouse made the most of the runner in scoring position with a RBI single of his own. At the end of the second inning, the Dogs jumped out to a 4-0.
It was the second inning the Railroaders began scoring, as well. Hector Sanchez hit a double off of starter Kyle Murphy and a Cesar Trejo strikeout brought up Hunter Wolfe. The TCU alum got ahold of one to earn his own double that scored Sanchez easily. It was Wolfe's third double of the year.
Cleburne continued to claw back in the fourth. Simpson singled and Zach Nehrir, who has caused chaos all weekend against the Dogs, hit a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Simpson scored off of a sacrifice, and Nehrir found his way home from a Trejo double that made it 4-3.
The even numbers were lucky for the Railroaders, clearly, as they conducted their final rally in the sixth. Down one with Murphy still on the bump, Arroyo led off the inning with a single and advanced to second off of a wild pitch the next at-bat. It couldn't be anyone else but Nehrir to take a big swing for Cleburne, who tied things up with a single. Sanchez connected for his second double of the night, and Nehrir rushed home from first to give the Railroaders the lead, 5-4.
That marked the end of road for Murphy. Right-handed relief pitcher Ryan Clark entered the game looking to put an end to the scoring stretch. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't sit down Wolfe, who saw mirrored Sanchez again with a RBI double to make it 6-4.
Suddenly, the momentum had completely flipped in favor of Cleburne. Hoping to make something happen against lefty Austin Fairchild, Kay advanced to first on a walk. After a Grier strikeout, Smith came to the plate with the opportunity to play hero ball once more. On a 1-0 count, he connected on a ball deep to left field and tied the ballgame with the two-run blast.
Now tied 6-6, Connor Kopach kept the rally running with a single. With two outs in the inning, Crouse came up with the chance to bring the lead back to his favor. The outfield star delivered in a big way. He blasted a ball far out of The Depot to suddenly reclaim the lead, 8-6.
From then on, it was smooth sailing for the Dogs. In the ninth, Tilson scored off of a hit-and-run from a Crouse single to make it a three-run lead. Closer Jeff Kinley came in and shut things down in the ninth to win, 9-6 final. With the victory, Chicago wins the series 5-1 and moves to 9-6 on the year. After an off day tomorrow, the Dogs will return to Impact Field to face the Sioux City Explorers in a three-game set.
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