RailCats Drop Tight Contest 4-3, Fall to Game Back in Wild Card
Published on August 24, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
GARY, Ind. - The Gary SouthShore RailCats fell to the Lincoln Saltdogs 4-3 in a closely contested affair despite managing just three hits falling to a game behind in the Wild Card and two games back in the Central Division with seven to play in the American Association regular season.
In a scoreless game in the third inning, RailCats starting pitcher Alain Quijano departed with the bases loaded and one out after suffering a strained groin. Nolan Nicholson warmed up and coerced a pair of fly outs to left to keep the game knotted up at zero in the early going. The Saltdogs broke through for the games first runs in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. A run-scoring single by Phil Hawke gave Lincoln a 1-0 lead with the second run coming home on a bases loaded walk drawn by Jorge Cortes.
After Adam Klein kicked off the game with a double for the RailCats, the next hit for the home team off Saltdogs starter Alessandro Maestri did not come until a Mike Massaro double in the sixth. The RailCats single-season hits leader scored a batter later on an error by Saltdogs second baseman Joe Ramos. With Boyer moving to second on the error, Guerrero advanced him to third with a groundout to second which set up a sacrifice fly by Rico Washington to tie the game at two.
The Saltdogs went ahead for good in the very next frame scratching together a run off RailCats righty Will Krout (5-2, 1.91). A leadoff walk by Hawke, a sacrifice bunt from Curt Smith and a single by Cortes gave Lincoln a 3-2 lead. The Saltdogs tacked on an important insurance run as another leadoff walk came back to bite the home team. The Saltdogs followed the same formula this time with Hawke driving home Vance Albitz with an RBI-single after a Kurt Steinhauer sacrifice bunt.
The RailCats tacked on a run in the eighth to get within a run but that would be as close as the home team could come to snapping this recent skid. Massaro raced around the bases scoring from first on a Brad Boyer double to make it a 4-3 ballgame in the eighth, before PJ Zocchi picked up his 21 save of the season for the Satldogs, which is good for second-best in the American Association.
With the loss, the RailCats failed to keep pace with the St. Paul Saints in the American Association Wild Card race. After two innings in St. Paul Tuesday evening, the Saints trailed the Sioux City Explorers 9-1 but fought back for a 10-9 win in eleven innings after holding the X's scoreless over the game's final nine innings. The 'Cats also drop to two games behind the Wichita Wingnuts in the Central Division as the 'Nuts claimed an 11-4 victory over the Amarillo Sox. The 'Cats have seven games remaining in the 2011 regular season, all home games against teams in the hunt for the American Association playoffs with three more against the Saltdogs and the Saints traveling to town for four starting Saturday.
American Association Stories from August 24, 2011
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- Hamren Secures First Major League Victory - Kansas City Monarchs
- X's Drop One Run Game To Saints - Sioux City Explorers
- RailCats Drop Tight Contest 4-3, Fall to Game Back in Wild Card - Gary SouthShore Railcats
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