Winnipeg Goldeyes 2019 Game Information
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th 26 YEAR 21 WINNING SEASONS 19 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES 1994 CHAMPIONS 2012 CHAMPIONS 2016 CHAMPIONS 2017 CHAMPIONS WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2019 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #24 ROAD GAME: #11 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (14-9) at GARY SOUTHSHORE RAILCATS (10-11) TUESDAY, JUNE 11th, 2019 – US STEEL YARD – 7:10 PM TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: WIN: RHP Parker French (1-0, 3.70) GAR: RHP Justin Sinibaldi (0-0, 5.00) RAILROADERS TAKE TWINBILL FROM GOLDEYES: The Winnipeg Goldeyes dropped both ends of a double header to the Cleburne Railroaders at Shaw Park on Sunday, losing 8-0 in game one and 5-2 in the game two. In the opener, Railroaders’ starting pitcher Jesus Sanchez pitched a complete game, five-hit shutout. The Railroaders took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second before adding four more runs on a pair of two-run homers. In game two, Cleburne took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out, RBI single from Kenny Meimerstorf that ultimately resulted in the ejection of Goldeyes’ starting pitcher Harrison Cooney. After the Railroaders built a 3-0 lead, the Goldeyes pulled within 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth on hits from Willy Garcia and Dominic Ficociello. Cleburne re-extended the lead with single runs in the fifth and seventh. Ryan Johnson took the loss for the Goldeyes in game one, allowing six earned runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. Johnson walked three and struck out four. Cooney took the loss in game two, allowing one earned run on two hits in 0.2 innings. Cooney walked none and struck out two. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE RAILCATS: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 101-81 all-time against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, including a 48-37 record in road games, and a 44-36 record at US Steel Yard. The RailCats joined the Northern League as an expansion team in 2002, and played all of their games on the road. The following year, the RailCats moved into their current home, US Steel Yard. Greg Tagert is in his 15th year as RailCats’ manager. Tagert guided the RailCats to the Northern League Championship Series five consecutive seasons from 2005-09, including Northern League titles in 2005 and 2007. The RailCats joined the American Association in 2011 along with the Goldeyes, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and Kansas City T-Bones. Tagert led the RailCats to their third championship in franchise history (and their first in the American Association) in 2013. Tagert also managed nine years in the Frontier League (Ohio Valley, Evansville, Dubois County, Kenosha, and Springfield/Ozark), and held the league’s all-time record for managerial wins upon departing for Gary SouthShore. During his first 23 years of managing professional baseball, Tagert has finished with a losing record just once (2015, 45-55). The RailCats were 57-43 in 2017, and won the American Association wild card on the final day of the regular season. In 2018, the RailCats won a franchise-record 59 games and a share of the American Association North Division title. On three occasions since joining the American Association, the RailCats have missed the playoffs by 2.0 games or less. The RailCats finished 1.0 game back of the Central Division lead in both 2011 and 2014, while missing by 2.0 games in 2016. The Goldeyes and RailCats have met twice in the playoffs (2007 and 2008) with the RailCats edging the Goldeyes in both series. Of the nine head-to-head playoff games between the two clubs, seven of them have been decided by three runs or less. SERIES MATCHUP: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 14-9, in third place in the American Association North Division, and 1.5 games behind the St. Paul Saints. The Goldeyes just lost two of three to the Cleburne Railroaders at Shaw Park. The Goldeyes are eighth in the American Association in hitting (.253), seventh in pitching (4.20), and first in fielding (.989). The Gary SouthShore RailCats are 10-11, in fifth place in the North, and 4.5 games behind the Saints. The RailCats were just swept in a three-game series by the Sioux Falls Canaries on the road. The RailCats are 11th in the league in batting (.226), third in pitching (3.73), and eighth in defence (.973). This is the second of four head-to-head series this season between the Goldeyes and RailCats. Winnipeg won two of three from the RailCats at Shaw Park earlier this month. The Goldeyes were 5-7 against the RailCats in 2018. PROJECTED UPCOMING PITCHING MATCHUPS TONIGHT’S STARTERS: The Goldeyes go with right- 6/12 at GAR: LHP Kevin McGovern (2-2, 4.50) vs. LHP Lars Liguori (2-2, 7.14) hander Parker French who is 1-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four 6/13 at GAR: TBA vs. TBA starts this season. French took a no-decision vs. Sioux City last Wednesday, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits in 7.2 innings. French walked three and struck out three. The Goldeyes won the game 3-2. French has pitched into the sixth inning or later in each of his first four starts this year. French was 1-4 with a 7.95 ERA last season in eight starts and 19 relief appearances for the Double-A Eastern League’s Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies). French was 8-11 with a 6.37 ERA for the Yard Goats in 2017, and allowed four or fewer earned runs in 16 of his 24 starts. In 2016, French led the High-A California League with a 2.85 ERA while pitching for the Modesto Nuts. No qualifying California League pitcher has matched that ERA since. French is in his fifth season of professional baseball, and is 22-29 lifetime with a 4.43 ERA in 93 appearances, 74 of them as a starting pitcher. French has averaged just 2.7 walks per nine innings as a professional, and has walked two batters or less in 59 of his 74 career starts. Entering 2019, French owned a 1.66 ground-out-to-air-out ratio (the 2018 Major League average was 1.03). French was drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round in 2015 out of the University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas). French was a combined 22-15 with a 2.60 ERA for the Texas Longhorns from 2012-15, and served as their “Friday Night Starter” as a sophomore in 2013. Tonight will be French’s first career appearance against the RailCats, as well as his first career appearance at US Steel Yard. The RailCats go with right-hander Justin Sinibaldi who is 0-0 with a 5.00 ERA in six relief appearances this season. Sinibaldi last pitched June 4th, allowing four earned runs on three hits in 2.0 relief innings in a 12-3 loss vs. Chicago. Sinibaldi had made four consecutive scoreless appearances prior to the June 4th outing. Sinibaldi signed with the RailCats in February, and was 3-4 with 10 saves and a 3.57 ERA in nine starts and 21 relief appearances last season for the Frontier League’s Lake Erie Crushers. Sinibaldi began his professional career with Lake Erie in 2016 following a four-year career at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Sinibaldi was a combined 16-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 27 starts and 14 relief appearances for the Nicholls State Colonels from 2013-16. Sinibaldi is in his fourth season of professional baseball, and is 9-11 lifetime with 12 saves and a 3.60 ERA in 84 games, 12 of them as a starting pitcher. Sinibaldi has a 22 percent career strikeout rate, and has allowed just nine home runs in 165.0 career innings pitched. Sinibaldi is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career relief appearance against the Goldeyes. Sinibaldi is 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA in two career relief appearances at US Steel Yard. GOLDEYES MANAGER: Rick Forney is now in his 14th season as Goldeyes’ manager, and his 23rd overall within the organization. During his first 13 years at the helm, the Goldeyes have posted a .545 overall winning percentage (698-583), 10 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 .553 winning percentage in the American Association (2011-18) is the third-highest in league history (there have been 51 total American Association managers through the 2018 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 MAKE TRANSACTION: The Winnipeg Goldeyes released left-handed pitcher Joel Bender on Friday. Bender was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in six relief appearances. GOLDEYES SIGN SLUGGER MARTIN: The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed first baseman Kyle Martin on June 5th. Martin hit a combined .198 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI last year in 110 games at two levels of the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization. Martin blasted 22 home runs in 2017 for the Double-A Eastern League’s Reading Fightin’ Phils. Martin was drafted in the fourth round by the Phillies in 2015 out of the University of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina) where he was a First-Team All-American as a senior.