Fish Blank Saints, Wild Card Lead up to Three
August 27, 2012 - American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release
Matthew Rusch became the third Winnipeg Goldeyes pitcher this week to win a game on short rest. And Monday night in St. Paul, he did it in style.
Rusch pitched 7.1 innings, allowing no runs on just four hits as the Goldeyes shutout the St. Paul Saints 4-0 at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. Rusch joined Ace Walker and Chris Salamida as Goldeyes starters to pitch on short rest and lead the team to victory.
With the win, the Goldeyes took their third straight from St. Paul, won the series 3-1, went 5-2 on the final seven-game road trip of the season, improved to 53-40 on the campaign and moved three full games ahead of St. Paul in the Wild Card race.
The Goldeyes magic number is now five and Winnipeg has a chance to clinch a playoff spot at Shaw Park this week.
Friday night, the Goldeyes were dead even with St. Paul. Both teams had 50-40 records. But by late Monday night, the Goldeyes found themselves in the driver's seat and now a playoff spot is within their grasp.
The Goldeyes opened the scoring in the first inning on Monday night as Chris Roberson singled, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on an error by the catcher.
While Rusch pitched brilliantly, the score remained 1-0 until the top of the seventh when the Goldeyes blew it open. Josh Mazzola was hit by a pitch and stole second and then Luis Alen walked. Kyle Day singled home Mazzola and Alen advanced to third. Then Price Kendall hit a ground ball to short and the Saints shortstop Tanner Townsend threw away the ball. When the dust cleared, Kendall was standing on third base and both Alen and Day had scored.
It was 4-0 and that's when the Goldeyes bullpen went to work. Chris Allen picked up Rusch in the eighth and got the final two outs and then closer Chris Bodishbaugh got the Saints in order in the ninth.
Luis Alen was the only Goldeyes player to get two hits. Of course, the Goldeyes had only five hits on the evening. Barbaro Canizares went one-for-four and is now hitting .500 since joining the Goldeyes to start the road trip a week ago in Gary.
Rusch (9-4, 2.46 ERA) got the win for Winnipeg. With a 2.46 earned run average, Rusch leads the American Association. St. Paul starter Anthony Claggett (7-4, 5.07 ERA), who allowed only two runs on four hits over seven complete innings, suffered the loss.
The Goldeyes will open a four-game series with the Sioux City Explorers at Shaw Park tonight. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
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American Association Stories from August 27, 2012
- American Association Game Recaps - AA
- Fish Blank Saints, Wild Card Lead up to Three - Winnipeg Goldeyes
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