AA Winnipeg Goldeyes

Goldeyes Lead Early, But Lose Lead Late

August 8, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release


With ace left-hander Nick Hernandez on the mound, the Winnipeg Goldeyes led 4-2 after 5 ½ innings on Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Fish, there were no heroics on this Saturday night.

The St. Paul Saints scored three times in the bottom of the sixth and then added two more in the eighth to beat the Goldeyes 7-4 at CHS Field in St. Paul.

With the defeat, the Goldeyes lost the opener of a three-game series in St. Paul and fell to 2-2 on their current six-game road trip. The Fish fell to 33-38 on the season and are now seven games behind Kansas City in the wild card hunt.

It was another heartbreaking loss for the Goldeyes, who led 2-0 after the top of the first and 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The loss also put a hold on manager Rick Forney's coronation as the most successful manager in Goldeyes history. Forney and his mentor, Hal Lanier, are still tied with 523 career wins each.

"Nick probably wishes he had a couple of pitches back, but he did what he does best, he kept us in the ball game," said Goldeyes pitching coach Jamie Vermilyea. "We got a quick lead, unfortunately we couldn't hold it. That's the way it goes sometimes."

On Saturday night, the Goldeyes started quickly. With two out in the top of the first, Casey Haerther singled, Josh Mazzola singled and Reggie Abercrombie singled to score Haerther and give the Goldeyes a 1-0 lead. Right after that, Brad Boyer was safe on an error and Mazzola scored to give the Fish a quick 2-0 advantage.

St. Paul tied it in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run homer by Vinnie DeFazio, but the Goldeyes answered in the top of the fifth as Casio Grider singled and Haerther doubled sending Grider to third. Mazzola drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and then Abercrombie singled to score Haerther. That gave Winnipeg a 4-2 lead with Hernandez on the mound and things looked pretty good.

But in the bottom of the sixth, St. Paul put up a three-spot as third baseman Steve Nikorak delivered the big blow with a two-out, two-run ground rule double. That gave St. Paul a 5-4 lead.

Nikorak put the game away in the bottom of the eight with a two-out, two-run homer off reliever Jon Jones. The Saints now lead the American Association with 72 home runs this season.

The Goldeyes finished with four runs on eight hits, while St. Paul had seven runs on 11 hits. Abercrombie led the Fish with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. Haerther had two hits and scored two runs. Mazzola went one-for-three with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Saints starter Jeff Shields (11-1, 3.13 ERA) got the win, while Hernandez suffered the loss (8-5, 2.49 ERA). Ryan Rodebaugh (2.35 ERA) picked up his 18th save.

The Goldeyes and Saints will play Game 2 of this three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at CHS Field in St. Paul. Right-hander Tony Smith (3-2, 3.80 ERA) will get the start for the Goldeyes.

The game can be heard live on The Jewel 100.5 with Steve Schuster at the microphone or watched live on Americanassociatiobaseball.tv.

The Goldeyes will complete this series in St. Paul on Monday night and then return home to start a three-game series against the Sioux Falls Canaries on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Shaw Park. 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 8, 2015


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