AA Winnipeg Goldeyes

Great Start, No Finish for Fish

June 3, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release


They say it's not how you start but how you finish that counts. On Wednesday night at Shaw Park, the Winnipeg Goldeyes got it backwards.

Despite getting out to a 3-0 lead after the first period, the Goldeyes pitching just couldn't hold the fort as the visiting Sioux Falls Canaries hammered the Fish 8-3.

With loss, the Goldeyes fell to 5-7 on the season and will play the rubber-match of this three-game series with Sioux Falls on Thursday morning at 11 a.m.

"They just beat us in all four aspects of the game," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. "They got a great effort from their starter, who went eight strong innings, they hit better than we did, they ran the bases better and they picked up the baseball better than we did. But it's early yet, our guys are still trying to get their feet under them."

The Goldeyes got it going early as Casio Grider led off with an opposite field flare double and after Brad Boyer bunted Grider to third, Casey Haerther delivered an RBI single. It was his team-leading ninth RBI of the season.

After Josh Mazzola was awarded a single on a misplayed fly ball to left field, Sioux Falls starter Miguel Pena took a comebacker to the mound off the bat of Nic Jackson and proceeded to fire the ball into the Goldeyes bullpen. Both Haerther and Mazzola scored and the Goldeyes led 3-0.

But after Goldeyes starter Jonathan Cornelius gave up a run in the second, it all fell apart in the fourth when Sioux Falls scored five times on six hits, two walks and an error. That made it 6-3 and the Canaries were in control.

In the ninth, the Canaries scored two more runs off Goldeyes reliever Mark Pope and that made it 8-3.

After giving up three in the first, two of them unearned, Pena settled in and retired the next 11 Goldeyes in a row before Brad Boyer singled in the fifth. In the end, Pena gave up three hits in the first inning and then only three more over the next seven innings of work.

Cameron McVey gave up a pair of hits as he mopped up in the ninth.

Josh Mazzola, with a pair of singles, was the only Goldeyes player to have a multi-hit game. The Goldeyes finished with three runs on eight hits. The Fish made four errors. The Goldeyes went into the series with three errors in their first 10 games on the road. The Fish have made six errors in two games at home.

"We fielded the ball better on artificial turf on the road," Forney said with a shrug. "We have to be better than that and hopefully tomorrow we can get up right and early and get a good start from Kyle (Anderson) so we can turn the ball over to the bullpen with a lead."

Pena (2-1, 2.11 ERA) got the win for the Canaries, while Goldeyes starter Jonathan Cornelius (0-2, 8.59 ERA) was tagged with the loss.

The Goldeyes and Canaries will wrap up this three-game series on Thursday at 11 a.m. Kyle Anderson (0-0, 2.89 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg, while Shawn Blackwell (0-2, 2.46 ERA) will take to the bump for the Canaries.

Tickets for all Winnipeg Goldeyes 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 June 3, 2015


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