Reininger Leads Goldeyes Past Milkmen
July 20, 2024 - American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release
Winnipeg Goldeyes' Zac Reininger on the mound
(Winnipeg Goldeyes)
WINNIPEG, MB - The Winnipeg Goldeyes (35-28) took a close one Saturday evening at Blue Cross Park, defeating the Milwaukee Milkmen 3-1 to win their fifth straight game.
A strong start and stellar defense kept the game close and allowed the Goldeyes to take the second game of the three-game set against Milwaukee (31-32) to win the series.
Zac Reininger - Dave Mahussier/Winnipeg Goldeyes
The Milkmen opened the score in the second inning as Abdiel Layer scored on a Reggie Pruitt Jr. fielder's choice to make it 1-0.
The lead wouldn't stand for long, however, as the Goldeyes struck back as Roby Enríquez would drive in Keshawn Lynch with a sharp single to right field that snuck past the Milwaukee infielders to knot things up 1-1 in the third inning.
Winnipeg brought another run around in the fourth inning, taking the lead on a sacrifice fly to left field from Jake McMurray that scored catcher Rob Emery to give the Goldeyes a 2-1 lead.
The action quieted down in the middle innings as it became a battle of pitching and defense, featuring a spectacular diving snag by Goldeyes centre fielder Nick Anderson in the eighth inning, who is playing in his first game at Blue Cross Park after being acquired by the Lincoln Saltdogs July 13.
Winnipeg added some much-needed insurance in the bottom of the eighth, as Emery blasted his ninth home run of the season down the left field line to make it 3-1. The Goldeyes backstop is slated to take part in the American Association Home Run Derby this coming week as a part of the All-Star Game festivities.
The Milkmen continued to press into the ninth inning as they loaded the bases with two outs but were shut down by Goldeyes reliever Joey Steele (S, 2) who earned his second save of the season after returning from injury on July 16.
Zac Reininger (W, 6-4) put together a very strong start, throwing six innings of one run ball while striking out seven. Reininger's effort is just the latest in a long line of fantastic pitching performances from the Goldeyes starters.
"We've gotten to a point where there aren't a lot of weaknesses on the pitching staff," said Goldeyes manager Logan Watkins. "Every time we send a starter out we have a great chance [to win], and that's been the case over the entire first half of the season."
Another pitching bright spot for the Goldeyes has been found in the bullpen in the form of lefty Ben Onyshko. In his 14 appearances this season, the Winnipeg native hasn't allowed an earned run in 22.2 innings pitched.
Jhordany Mezquita (L, 4-1) was tagged with the loss for the Milkmen. He went 5.2 innings allowing two runs on eight hits.
The Goldeyes and Milkmen wrap up their three-game set on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CDT at Blue Cross Park. Joey Matulovich (7-2, 2.30) takes the ball for Winnipeg as they try for the series sweep, while Milwaukee will counter with lefty Ryley Widell (4-0, 4.52).
Trevor Curl will have the pregame show on CJNU 93.7 FM and cjnu.ca at 12:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast in French on L'Univers de L'Info with Yanick LaRoche handling the play-by-play. The video stream of all games is available free of charge at AABaseball.TV.
For information about 2024 Season Tickets, Mini Packs, Skysuites, and Group Packages, please visit the team's official website Goldeyes.com.
-Goldeyes-
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 Winnipeg Goldeyes' Zac Reininger on the mound |
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