Winnipeg Goldeyes Daily Clippings Wednesday

WINNIPEG GOLDEYES DAILY CLIPPINGS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25th , 2021

- Goldeyes Win Twice in Milwaukee—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 8/24/21 - August 24 th Game Two Highlights (Video Link)—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Jason Young), 8/24/21 - August 24 th Game One Highlights (Video Link)—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Jason Young), 8/24/21 - Milkmen Fall to Neighbors Up North in Doubleheader—Milwaukee Milkmen (Jonathan Michel), 8/24/21 - Goldeyes Add Former Angels Farmhand—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 8/22/21 - Trying to Make a Miracle Happen—Winnipeg Free Press (Taylor Allen), 8/17/21

GOLDEYES WIN TWICE IN MILWAUKEE STEVE SCHUSTER – WINNIPEG GOLDEYES – TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 th FRANKLIN, WI – The Winnipeg Goldeyes (47-39) won both games of a double header over the Milwaukee Milkmen at Franklin Field on Tuesday night, taking the opener 3-0 and winning the nightcap 5-4.

The double header was the Goldeyes’ 10 th of 2021, which are now the most the Goldeyes have ever played in a single season.

In game one, three Goldeyes’ pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout. Greg Harris (3-5) started for Winnipeg and picked up the win, throwing five shutout innings on one hit. Harris walked three and struck out two.

The Goldeyes broke a scoreless tie with one out in the top of the fourth inning when Logan Hill crushed a home run just to the left of straightaway centre field.

In the top of the sixth, Raul Navarro was hit by a pitch leading off and took second when Logan Hill walked. After Kyle Mora relieved Milkmen started Ryan Zimmerman, the Goldeyes took a 2-0 lead when Austin Rei blooped a one-out single to right that scored Navarro. Tyler Hill made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Logan Hill.

Travis Seabrooke worked a perfect bottom of the sixth, while Donnie Hart closed out the game with a perfect seventh to earn his eighth save.

Zimmerman (8-6) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on five hits in five-plus innings. Zimmerman walked four and struck out two.

In game two, the Goldeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Navarro reached on a one-out infield single, and was followed by a four- pitch walk to Logan Hill. Deon Stafford then smacked a three-run home run to left-centre.

With two outs and no one on base in the top of the third, Kyle Martin extended the inning with a full-count walk. Kevin Lachance then homered to left on a 1-2 count to make it 5-0.

Milwaukee chipped away in the bottom of the third on a two-out, solo home run down the left field line from Logan Trowbridge. Aaron Hill hit a two-out, two-run home run to left in the bottom of the fourth, and the Milkmen pulled within 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, RBI single from Hill.

Facing the middle of the Milkmen lineup in the bottom of the seventh, Zac Ryan retired the side in order with two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the year.

Eduard Reyes (7-7) started game two for the Goldeyes and picked up the win, allowing three earned runs on six hits over five innings. Reyes walked two and struck out one.

Myles Smith (13-4) started game two for the Milkmen (51-37) and took the loss, allowing five earned runs on four hits in five innings. Smith walked six and struck out five.

The series continues Wednesday evening at 6:35 p.m. Dylan Burns (1-2, 4.64) faces right-hander Christian Young (1-2, 8.71). All the action can be heard locally on CJNU 93.7 FM and worldwide at www.cjnu.ca

The Goldeyes return for their final homestand of the regular season beginning August 31 st against the Chicago Dogs.

Advanced tickets for all Goldeyes home games are on sale now by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca . For more information about the Winnipeg Goldeyes’ 2021 remaining schedule, ticket options, and the Goldeyes’ comprehensive COVID-19 readiness plan, visit www.goldeyes.com

VIDEO: AUGUST 24 th GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS JASON YOUNG – WINNIPEG GOLDEYES – TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 th LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXd3BI9aNmA

VIDEO: AUGUST 24 th GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS JASON YOUNG – WINNIPEG GOLDEYES – TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 th LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGLw7VYP8r8

MILKMEN FALL TO NEIGHBORS UP NORTH IN DOUBLEHEADER JONATHAN MICHEL – MILWAUKEE MILKMEN – TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 th Franklin, WI – The Milwaukee Milkmen fought back from 5-0 deficit in the second game of their 7-inning doubleheader, but ultimately came up run short, losing 5-4 to the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Winnipeg struck first in the 2nd inning, taking a 3-0 lead after Raul Navarro singled, Logan Hill walked, and Deon Stafford brought all runners around with a home run.

Despite Max Murphy grounding into a double play in the top of the 3rd for the Goldeyes, the visitors to Franklin Field went up 5-0 after Kyle Martin walked and Kevin Lachance added a dinger of his own.

Logan Trowbridge, reliable as ever, responded with a solo home run of his own to make it 5-1 in the bottom of the third. The round tripper was his 11th of the season.

Later in the fourth, Milwaukee’s Trey Martin walked and came around to score when his teammate Aaron Hill blasted his 11th homer of the season, drawing the Milkmen closer 5-3.

Milkmen starter Myles Smith kept the Goldeyes at bay, not allowing more runs to score despite two Winnipeg batters reaching both the 4th and 5th innings.

Martin continued to be a spark plug for the Milkmen, doubling with one out in the bottom of the 6th and Hill delivered another RBI by singling Martin home.

Down 1 run in the bottom of the 7th, the Milkmen could not push across a run off Winnipeg closer Zac Ryan as the Goldeyes won their 4th contest in a row.

The Milkmen were victims of a stellar pitching performance by the Goldeyes’ trio of Greg Harris, Travis Seabrooke, and Donnie Hart, losing the first game of their Tuesday doubleheader 3-0.

Ryan Zimmerman took the hill for Milwaukee and wriggled out of a small jams in the first and third after allowing two baserunners both times. The Milkmen had a scoring chance in the 3rd after Trey Martin walked and stole second. Christ Conley made a productive out, grounding out to first and advancing Martin to third with one out, but Aaron Hill and Brett Vertigan were retired by Harris to end the bottom of the 3rd.

Goldeyes’ left fielder Logan Hill put the first run of the game on the board with a solo home run in the top of the 4th.

Milwaukee had another small opportunity in the bottom of the 4th after David Washington hit a two-out single and Mikey Reynolds walked, but Cole Sturgeon grounded out to first to end the inning.

After Harris finished 5 innings for Winnipeg, Seabrooke and Hart did not allow another Milkmen batter to reach base.

Winnipeg added a pair of insurance runs in the 6th when Raul Navarro and Hill reached base to start the inning. Goldeyes’ catcher Austin Rei brought home Navarro with a single and Tyler Hill scored his teammate of the same surname with a sacrifice fly.

GOLDEYES ADD FORMER ANGELS FARMHAND STEVE SCHUSTER – WINNIPEG GOLDEYES – SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 nd WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed right-handed pitcher Tyler Smith on Saturday.

Smith made 24 relief appearances earlier this season for the High-A West’s Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels). The Trafford, Pennsylvania native was 1-1 with a 5.45 ERA, striking out 38 batters in 33.0 innings pitched. Prior to this season, Smith last pitched in 2019 for two Angels’ affiliates. The 25-year-old was a combined 7-5 with seven saves and a 4.45 ERA in 36 relief appearances for the High-A California League’s Inland Empire 66ers and the Low-A Midwest League’s Burlington Bees.

Smith was drafted by the Angels in the eighth round in 2018 out of Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. The 6-foot, 230-pound right-hander had a combined 2.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 147.1 collegiate innings at Canisius from 2015-18. In three seasons of professional baseball, Smith is 10-7 with eight saves and a 4.61 ERA in 77 games, all of them in relief. Smith has averaged 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings as a professional, and made his Goldeyes’ debut with a scoreless inning in game one of Saturday’s double header against Kane County.

The Goldeyes also placed right-handed pitcher Nate Antone on the Inactive List, retroactive to August 12 th .

The Goldeyes play a double header against the Kane County Cougars on Sunday beginning at 11:05 a.m.

TRYING TO MAKE A MIRACLE HAPPEN TAYLOR ALLEN – WINNIPEG FREE PRESS – TUESDAY, AUGUST 17 th THE Winnipeg Goldeyes have every excuse to be having a terrible season.

They lost three of their most important pitchers right before opening day, star shortstop Wes Darvill missed the beginning of the season playing in an Olympic qualifier for Team Canada, they played the first half of the season based out of Jackson, Tenn., and when they returned to play in Winnipeg two weeks ago, they had to let go several key players and their hitting coach, as they’re not vaccinated.

This season has been a gong show to say the least.

Yet, with 22 games left in the campaign, the Goldeyes are somehow in the playoff race, going 8-2 in their past 10 to give them a 41-37 record. They trail the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (47-34) for the third and final playoff spot in the North Division.

"It has not been easy, that’s for sure," Darvill told the Free Press on the team’s day off on Monday. "...No offence to Jackson, it was a great place and they took care of us really well, but it’s nothing like Winnipeg and playing in front of your home fans. Yeah, it’s been tough, but that’s just how baseball goes. You kind of go up and down throughout the course of the season but you sort of just stay the course and just worry about controlling what you can and playing hard every day."

The Fish have gone 6-0 since returning to their downtown ballpark, sweeping the Sioux City Explorers and Milwaukee Milkmen before going 3-2 on the road last week. The Goldeyes welcome the Gary SouthShore Railcats to town for a three-game series starting tonight.

Visiting teams typically enjoy making the trip to Shaw Park.

It’s a beautiful ballpark, there’s usually a decent turnout, and unlike some towns in the world of independent baseball, Winnipeg has a lot to offer away from the diamond.

But coming to Winnipeg has been more of a headache for the opposition this month. Teams with low vaccination rates have been forced to scramble to put rosters as players and coaches are required to be vaccinated in order to cross the border. Sioux City had it the worst as they only had one player vaccinated, forcing the team to sign 24 bodies at the last minute and trot out Winnipegger Marc-Andre Habeck as their starting pitcher one night.

The requirements have also made pitchers Danny Taggart and Jonathan Vance very popular as they suited up for Sioux City, Milwaukee and will also be playing for Gary this week.Taggart is a 24-year-old from New York who found himself out of the Atlantic League as he had a 10.87 ERA after 12 games. Vance, who’s also 24 and hails from California, started two games in the Frontier League this summer and left with a 7.20 ERA.

The Goldeyes have faced some inferior talent at home, but manager Rick Forney said it hasn’t been a competitive advantage for his team.

"They’ve all known about this. It wasn’t a secret. There was a good chance they were coming to Winnipeg and you needed to have vaccinated players and they chose not to get them. That was Sioux City’s problem," Forney said.

Forney believes the squad needs to win at least nine of their next 11 games to give them a real strong chance at claiming a postseason berth. Things will likely get interesting at the end as their final four games come against Fargo at home.

So, with all the obstacles that have been thrown at the Fish this year, and the year before, what would it mean to sneak into the playoffs?

"It would be a miracle...I would’ve been happy just being a .500 team... but we’re keeping ourselves in the mix," said Forney." It’d certainly be a miracle if we do make it. Miracles do happen from time to time."

Winnipeg Goldeyes first baseman Kyle Martin has been named the American Association’s Batter of the Week for Aug. 9-15.

In six games last week, Martin went 9-for-23 (with six runs scored, two doubles, four home runs, and nine RBI. The Greenville, S.C. native is hitting .297, and leads the American Association in both home runs (28) and RBI (93). Martin set a new Goldeyes’ single-season record for runs batted in as he passed Juan Diaz's mark of 90 in 2009. Martin is also one home run shy of the Goldeyes’ single-season mark, set by Sean Hearn in 1998 and matched by Diaz in 2009. The American Association single-season record is 31, established by the Chicago Dogs’ Keon Barnum in 2019.