th 27 YEAR 22 WINNING SEASONS 19 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES 1994 CHAMPIONS 2012 CHAMPIONS 2016 CHAMPIONS 2017 CHAMPIONS WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2020 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #1 ROAD GAME: #1 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (0-0) at FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS (0-0) FRIDAY, JULY 3rd , 2020 – NEWMAN OUTDOOR FIELD – 7:02 PM TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: WIN: LHP Mitchell Lambson (0-0, 0.00) FAR: RHP Bradin Hagens (0-0, 0.00) PLAY BALL: The American Association begins the 2020 season tonight following a delayed start due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The league was originally scheduled to begin May 19 th . Six teams are scheduled to play 60 regular season games, including the Goldeyes, Chicago Dogs, Fargo- Moorhead RedHawks, Milwaukee Milkmen, St. Paul Saints, and Sioux Falls Canaries. Winnipeg and St. Paul will play their home games at Newman Outdoor Field (Fargo-Moorhead) and Sioux Falls Stadium (Sioux Falls) respectively. The teams with the best two winning percentages at the conclusion of the regular season will meet in the 2020 American Association Championship Series. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE REDHAWKS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 162-184 all-time against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, including a 73-97 record at Newman Outdoor Field. The RedHawks are celebrating their 25 th season, and have been one of independent baseball’s elite franchises since beginning play in 1996. The RedHawks won a Northern League record five championships (1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2010) before joining the American Association in 2011 along with the Goldeyes, Gary SouthShore RailCats, and Kansas City T-Bones. Fargo-Moorhead won the American Association North Division in 2012 and 2013, and became the first team in league history to win 60-plus games in back-to-back seasons (65 wins in 2012, 62 wins in 2013). The 65 wins tied a then-American Association record, which has since been surpassed five times. The Goldeyes and RedHawks have clashed in the postseason 10 times, with the most recent meeting coming in the 2012 American Association Division Series. Former RedHawks’ star Chris Coste was named interim manager in June. Coste was a member of the RedHawks’ 1998 Northern League championship club before spending four seasons in the Major Leagues. Coste was a key member of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship team. Coste takes over for James Bennett, who guided the RedHawks to 63 wins, a postseason berth, and was voted American Association Manager of the Year in 2019. During their 15 years in the Northern League, the RedHawks qualified for the postseason 14 times, made seven trips to the Northern League Championship Series, and never finished with a regular season winning percentage below .558. SERIES MATCHUP: Tonight is the opener of a three-game series against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and the first of 24 total meetings between the clubs this season. The Goldeyes were 7-5 against Fargo-Moorhead in 2019, including a 4-3 mark at Newman Outdoor Field. PROJECTED UPCOMING PITCHING MATCHUPS TONIGHT’S STARTERS: The Goldeyes open the 2020 7/4 at FAR: RHP Frank Duncan (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Tyler Pike (0-0, 0.00) season with left-hander Mitchell Lambson who was voted 7/5 at FAR: LHP Kevin McGovern (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ryan Williams (0-0, 0.00) the American Association’s 2019 Pitcher of the Year. Lambson was 13-4 with a 3.11 ERA for the Goldeyes last season in 21 starts. Lambson ranked first in the American Association in wins, fifth in ERA, second in strikeouts (133), first in innings pitched (150.2), first in complete games (four) and first in wins above replacement (WAR) among pitchers (4.0). Lambson was also selected to the American Association All-Star Game at CHS Field in St. Paul. Lambson allowed three or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 21 starts. Lambson pitched 6.0 innings or more in 19 of his 21 starts, including 15 starts of 7.0 innings or more (most in the American Association). At the conclusion of the Goldeyes’ season, Lambson was traded to the Atlantic League’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs where he was 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA in an additional four starts. During the Goldeyes’ 2017 championship season, Lambson was 7-3 with one save and a 3.98 ERA in one start and 38 relief appearances. Lambson was then 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in six postseason relief appearances, including 1.2 shutout innings in Game Five of the American Association Championship Series on September 20 th vs. Wichita. Lambson began 2018 pitching in the Mexican League before returning to the Goldeyes, and was 8-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance. Lambson finished ninth in the American Association in ERA, and tied for fourth in WAR among pitchers (2.8). Lambson is in his 10 th season of professional baseball, and is 59-32 (.648) with 10 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 279 games, 54 of them as a starting pitcher. Lambson has averaged 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings as a professional versus just 2.3 walks. Lambson was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 19 th round in 2011 out of Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona). Lambson helped the Sun Devils reach the College World Series in 2009 and 2011, and is tied for second in program history with 102 appearances. Lambson is 4-3 with a 5.25 ERA in six starts and five relief appearances in his career against Fargo-Moorhead. Lambson is 3-1 with a 4.56 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance in his career at Newman Outdoor Field. The RedHawks go with former Major League right-hander Bradin Hagens. Hagens made one start for the RedHawks last season before having his contract purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hagens was then 4-2 with a 6.03 ERA in six starts and 16 relief appearances for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s Reno Aces. Hagens reached the Major Leagues with the Diamondbacks in 2014, allowing one earned run in 2.2 innings over two relief appearances. Hagens’ resume includes a Major League strikeout of 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich. Hagens was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the sixth round in 2009 out of Merced College (Merced, California). Hagens also pitched two seasons for Nippon Professional Baseball’s (NPB) Hiroshima Carp from 2016-17. Hagens is in his 12 th season of professional baseball, and is 62-58 lifetime with nine saves and a 4.08 ERA in 336 games, 120 of them as a starting pitcher. Tonight will be Hagens’ first career appearance against Winnipeg, as well as his first career appearance at Newman Outdoor Field. GOLDEYES MANAGER: Rick Forney is now in his 15 th season as Goldeyes’ manager, and his 24 th overall within the organization. During his first 14 years at the helm, the Goldeyes have posted a .547 overall winning percentage (755-626), 11 winning seasons, nine playoff appearances, and an American Association-record three championships. Forney was voted American Association Manager of the Year in 2011, and managed the American Association during the American Association/Can-Am League All-Star Game in 2017. Forney’s .555 winning percentage in the American Association (2011-19) is the fourth-highest in league history (there have been 54 total American Association managers through the 2019 season). Forney pitched professionally for 10 years, including four seasons with the Goldeyes. During his playing career, Forney was 89-56 (.614) with a 3.63 ERA, and reached the Triple-A level in 1995. GOLDEYES WELCOME NEW HITTING COACH: The Winnipeg Goldeyes introduced Kash Beauchamp as their hitting coach last November. Beauchamp enjoyed a 14-year playing career in which he reached Triple-A in six different seasons. The former first overall draft pick (January phase, 1982) compiled a .285 career batting average in 1,083 professional games. In 1993, Beauchamp hit .367 for the Northern League’s Rochester Aces (the franchise that eventually became the Winnipeg Goldeyes), and became the first position player in independent baseball history to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization (Cincinnati Reds). Beauchamp has 10 years of managerial experience in independent baseball, and currently serves as the independent leagues scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. GOLDEYES ADD TWO PLAYERS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed catcher Ryan Lidge and left-handed pitcher Evan Grills on Friday. Lidge is in his fourth season of professional baseball, and reached Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in the New York Yankees’ organization last year. Lidge has thrown out 35 percent of opposing base stealers during his career, and is the cousin of former Major League closer Brad Lidge. Grills was 1-3 with a 5.70 ERA in three starts and 11 relief appearances last season for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies). Grills has a lifetime 4.25 ERA in nine professional seasons, averaging just 2.0 walks per nine innings. OPENING NIGHT ALL-TIME: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 16-10 all-time in their season opener, including an 8-8 record when opening the season on the road. 2020 marks the ninth consecutive season the Goldeyes’ have opened the season away from Winnipeg. The Goldeyes are 1-2 all-time when opening the season against Fargo-Moorhead. The last Opening Night meeting between the clubs came in 2011, a 4-2 Goldeyes’ win at Shaw Park. OH CANADA: The Goldeyes Opening Night roster features four Canadian-born players, including returning all-star shortstop Wes Darvill (Langley, British Columbia).