Long ball from Bass lifts Goldeyes past Saints
Published on July 29, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release
All it took was one swing of the bat.
Justin Bass hit a two-run home run off starter Matt Long in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring the Winnipeg Goldeyes all the way back from a 2-0 deficit to record a 4-2 victory over the St. Paul Saints.
On a perfect night for baseball at Shaw Park in downtown Winnipeg, 6,045 fans looked on as the Goldeyes improved to 43-28 on the season and took a two-game lead over the Saints in the race for first place in the American Association's North Division.
"It took awhile, but we finally started playing Goldeyes baseball," said Bass, whose team-leading 13th homer of the year was the game-winning hit. "He threw me a fastball, middle-in. He threw me one in the at bat just before that and I missed it. I said to myself that if I got it again, I was going to crush it."
He did.
Trailing 2-0 in the seventh, the Goldeyes scored three times to take the lead as Brian Myrow singled, went to third on an infield single by Jon Weber and scored on a ground out by Luis Alen. Then, with Weber at second, Bass hit a majestic rainbow shot over the leftfield fence, almost into the river.
In the eighth, the Goldeyes added an insurance run as Kody Kaiser doubled, his second hit of the night, and scored on another infield single off the bat of Jon Weber.
"(Long) pitched a good ball game for them," said Bass. "He was hitting his spots and getting guys out. It looked like that road trip all over again for awhile and then we started playing Goldeyes baseball again. It was a big win for us."
Winnipeg reliever Zach Baldwin (5-0, 5.96) pitched to one batter in the seventh (in fact, he threw two pitches) and got the win. Long (6-7, 5.22) took the loss for St. Paul. Goldeyes starter Chris Salamida pitched six innings and struck out 12 batters, but did not get the decision. In total, five Winnipeg pitchers struck out 15 Saints.
Game 2 of this three-game series with St. Paul goes Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Shaw Park. Great seats are still available at Ticketmaster or at the Goldeyes box office. For those who can't get to the park, the game can be heard live with Paul Edmonds on Sports Radio 1290.
American Association Stories from July 29, 2011
- American Association Results - AA
- Five-Run First Leads Amarillo to 7-4 Win Over Captains - Shreveport-Bossier Captains
- Long ball from Bass lifts Goldeyes past Saints - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- RailCats Open Roadtrip with Loss in Iowa - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Saints Strike Out at Plate and Scoreboard, Lose 4-2 - St. Paul Saints
- Gailen Has Contract Sold to Angels - AA
- Justice Makes His Way Back to Winnipeg - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- Battle for the North this Weekend at Shaw Park - Winnipeg Goldeyes
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