WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2020 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #12 ROAD GAME: #9 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (6-5) at ST
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th 27 YEAR 22 WINNING SEASONS 19 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES 1994 CHAMPIONS 201 2 CHAMPIONS 2016 CHAMPIONS 2017 CHAMPIONS WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2020 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #12 ROAD GAME: #9 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (6-5) at ST. PAUL SAINTS (5-6) THURSDAY, JULY 16th , 2020 – SIOUX FALLS STADIUM – 7:05 PM TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: WIN: RHP John Gorman (0-0, 1.42) STP: RHP Matthew Solter (2-0, 2.84) SWEENEY, DUNCAN KEY GOLDEYES WIN OVER SAINTS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes beat the St. Paul Saints 4-3 at Sioux Falls Stadium on Wednesday night. Saints’ third baseman Chesney Young made a throwing error in the top of the first that allowed Winnipeg to take a 2-0 lead. In the top of the third, Darnell Sweeney hit a two-run home run. Sweeney has homered in three straight games. Goldeyes’ starting pitcher Frank Duncan picked up the win, allowing one earned run on four hits in 6.0 innings. Duncan walked none, struck out five, and threw just 57 pitches. Kent Hasler struck out two during a perfect bottom of the seventh. Victor Capellan stranded the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the year. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE SAINTS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 158-130 all-time against the St. Paul Saints, including a 72-66 record in road games, and a 1-1 record at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Goldeyes are 82-59 all-time at Sioux Falls Stadium against all opponents. As part of the adjusted 2020 American Association season, the Saints will play their home games at Sioux Falls Stadium, home of the Sioux Falls Canaries. The Saints won the 2019 American Association championship, their fifth in franchise history and first in the American Association. The Saints also won the Northern League title in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 2004. St. Paul finished the 2019 regular season 17-3 to win the North Division and finish with the best overall record in the league at 64-36. After falling behind 0-2 to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the American Association Division Series, the Saints rallied for three straight victories in their final at bat before sweeping the Sioux City Explorers 3-0 in the American Association Championship Series. The Saints are now in their 28 th season, and join the Sioux City Explorers and Sioux Falls Canaries as the three oldest franchises in independent baseball still operating in their original cities. The Saints were charter members of the American Association in 2006, and have made five trips to the American Association Championship Series (2006, 2007, 2011, 2018, and 2019), which is tied with the Wichita Wingnuts for the most in league history. The Saints have won at least a share of the American Association North Division crown in four of the past five years (2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019). In 2015, the Saints won a franchise record 74 games before losing to the Sioux City Explorers in four games in the American Association Division Series. In 2016, the Saints were 61-39, tying the Wichita Wingnuts for the best record in the regular season. The Goldeyes then beat the Saints in five games in the Division Series, rallying to win Games Four and Five at CHS Field. The 2016 Division Series was the fourth playoff meeting between the two clubs. The Saints beat the Goldeyes three games to one in the 1995 Northern League Championship Series. Winnipeg edged St. Paul three games to two in the 2003 Northern League East Division Championship Series. In the 2011 American Association Division Series, the Saints bested the Goldeyes in a winner-take-all Game Five, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. George Tsamis returns for his 18th year as Saints’ manager. Tsamis pitched in the Major Leagues for the Minnesota Twins in 1993. Tsamis is the winningest manager in American Association history, and won a pair of Northern League championships with the New Jersey Jackals in 2001 and 2002, both of which came against the Goldeyes. On June 12 th , 2018, Tsamis earned his 1,000 th managerial win, joining Doug Simunic, Butch Hobson, and Greg Tagert as the only managers in independent baseball history to win 1,000-plus games (Joe Calfapietra later earned his 1,000 th independent managerial victory in 2019). The Saints played their first 22 years at historic Midwest Stadium before moving into state-of-the-art CHS Field in 2015. The Goldeyes beat the Saints 4-3 in the last ever game at Midway Stadium on August 28 th , 2014 in front of 9,455 fans. SERIES MATCHUP: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 6-5, in third place in the American Association, and 1.5 games behind the Sioux Falls Canaries. The Goldeyes just lost two of three to the Canaries at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Goldeyes are second in the American Association in hitting (.294), fourth in pitching (4.73), and second in fielding (.973). The St. Paul Saints are 5-6, in fourth place, and 2.5 games behind the Canaries. The Saints just won two of three from the Milwaukee Milkmen at Franklin Field. The Saints are first in the league in batting (.303), fifth in pitching (4.83), and sixth in defence (.957). This is the first of three head-to-head series this season between the Goldeyes and Saints. The Goldeyes were 5-8 against the Saints in 2019. PROJECTED UPCOMING PITCHING MATCHUPS TONIGHT’S STARTERS: The Goldeyes go with right- 7/17 vs. SF: RHP Kevin Hilton (2-0, 1.80) vs. RHP Grady Wood (1-1, 6.52) hander John Gorman who is 0-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two 7/18 vs. SF: LHP McKenzie Mills (0-1, 5.40) vs. LHP Jake Zokan (1-1, 5.63) relief appearances this season. Gorman last pitched on th 7/19 vs. SF: LHP Kevin McGovern (0-1, 12.79) vs. RHP Sam Bragg (1-1, 6.75) July 10 at Sioux Falls, allowing one earned run on three hits in 4.0 relief innings. Gorman was 4-5 with eight saves and a 4.76 ERA last season in one start and 42 relief appearances for the Double-A Texas League’s Midland RockHounds (Oakland Athletics). Gorman was voted a Texas League All-Star for a second consecutive year. Gorman finished tied for third in the Texas League in appearances and tied for seventh in saves. Gorman’s lone start was the first of his professional career, and came on September 2 nd at Springfield. Gorman is in his fifth season of professional baseball, and was drafted by the Athletics in the 31 st round in 2015 out of Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts). Gorman is 10-10 lifetime with 13 saves and a 3.48 ERA in 121 appearances, one of them as a starting pitcher. Gorman has averaged 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings vs. just 2.6 walks as a professional. Tonight will be Gorman’s first career appearance against the Saints. Gorman is 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA in one career relief appearance at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Saints go with right-hander Matthew Solter who is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in two starts this season. Solter picked up the win last Friday at Milwaukee, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings. Solter walked none and struck out seven. Solter did not allow an earned run in 5.1 innings while picking up the win during his first start of the year on July 4 th at Sioux Falls. Solter was a combined 5-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 13 starts last season at two levels of the Cleveland Indians’ organization. Solter struck out 62 and allowed just two home runs in 66.1 innings for the High-A Carolina League’s Lynchburg Hillcats and the Double-A Eastern League’s Akron RubberDucks. Solter went undrafted out of Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina) in 2015 and signed in the American Association with the Gary SouthShore RailCats. After posting a 3.86 ERA in 25.2 innings for the RailCats, Solter’s contract was purchased by the San Francisco Giants. Solter pitched in the Giants’ farm system from 2016-17 before signing with the Saints in 2018. Solter was 3-5 with a 4.73 ERA in 15 starts for the Saints and helped them reach the American Association Championship Series. The Indians purchased Solter’s contract from the Saints in February of 2019. Solter is in his sixth season of professional baseball, and is 23-18 lifetime with a 4.55 ERA in 83 appearances, 56 of them as a starting pitcher. Solter has averaged just 0.6 home runs per nine innings during his career. Solter is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA in one start and two relief appearances in his career against the Goldeyes. Solter is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two career starts at Sioux Falls Stadium. 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 56 total American Association managers through the 2019 season).