th 28 YEAR 22 WINNING SEASONS 19 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES 1994 CHAMPIONS 2012 CHAMPIONS 2016 CHAMPIONS 2017 CHAMPIONS WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2021 GAME INFORMATION GAME: #21 HOME GAME: #10 WINNIPEG GOLDEYES (8-12) vs. SIOUX FALLS CANARIES (11-11) SATURDAY, JUNE 12th , 2021 – THE BALLPARK AT JACKSON – 6:35 PM TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: WIN: RHP Christian James (1-1, 5.02) KCC: LHP Ty Culbreth (4-0, 2.25) STELLAR BULLPEN EFFORT, CLUTCH HITS LIFT GOLDEYES: The Winnipeg Goldeyes beat the Sioux Falls Canaries 8-5 at The Ballpark at Jackson on Friday night. After Sioux Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Raul Navarro and Kevin Lachance hit back-to-back two-out, RBI singles in the bottom half. The Canaries answered back with four runs in the top of the second. Kyle Martin’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second cut the deficit to 5-3, and the Goldeyes tied the game in the third on back-to-back two-out, RBI singles from Austin Rei and Tyler Hill. Lachance drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single, and an ensuring Canaries’ error made it 7-5. Max Murphy’s two-out triple in the bottom of the eighth drove in the Goldeyes’ final run to make it 8-5. Travis Seabrooke picked up the win in relief with 1.2 scoreless innings. Jose Jose converted a five-out save, his first of the year. Pete Perez worked 4.0 shutout innings in relief. Mike Webb started and took a no-decision, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits in 1.2 innings. Webb walked three and struck out two. ALL-TIME AGAINST THE CANARIES: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 174-112 all-time against the Sioux Falls Canaries, including a 91-52 record in home games, and a 1-0 record at The Ballpark at Jackson. The Canaries finished 31-27 and in second place during the abbreviated 2020 American Association season. Sioux Falls ended a 10-year playoff drought and reached the American Association Championship Series where they lost the best- of-seven matchup to the Milwaukee Milkmen in five games. The Canaries were one of the original six members of the Northern League during the birth of modern independent baseball in 1993. With the St. Paul Saints electing to become the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins and the Sioux City Explorers not participating in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canaries are now the longest-tenured franchise in independent baseball still operating in its original city. The Canaries joined the American Association as a charter member in 2006, and won their first league championship in 2008. The Canaries rebranded themselves as the Sioux Falls Pheasants in 2010 where they made a return trip to the American Association Championship Series. The club changed its name back to the Canaries in 2013. Mike Meyer is in his fifth year as Canaries’ manager. Meyer served as hitting coach for the Laredo Lemurs from 2015-16, which included the Lemurs’ 2015 American Association championship campaign. Meyer previously served as Sioux Falls’ pitching coach from 2007-14, and was a member of their championship staff in 2008. Meyer was 42-39 with six saves and a 4.20 ERA during an eight-year playing career, and was a part of the Saints’ 2004 Northern League championship club. Former Goldeyes’ outfielder Reggie Abercrombie hit 54 of his American Association-record 146 home runs for Sioux Falls from 2010-13. On June 4 th , 2014, five Goldeyes’ pitchers combined to no-hit the Canaries in the nightcap of a double header at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Canaries beat the Goldeyes 14-5 in the first ever game at Shaw Park on June 4 th , 1999. SERIES MATCHUP: The Winnipeg Goldeyes are 8-12, in sixth place in the American Association North Division, and 5.0 games behind the Chicago Dogs. The Goldeyes just swept a rain-shortened, two-game series from the Kane County Cougars at The Ballpark at Jackson. The Goldeyes are fifth in the American Association in hitting (.267), 10th in pitching (6.33), and fourth in fielding (.980). The Sioux Falls Canaries are 11-11, tied for third place in the South Division, and 3.0 games behind the Sioux City Explorers. The Canaries were just swept in a three-game series by the Cleburne Railroaders at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Canaries are first in the league in batting (.315), 11th in pitching (6.35), and tied for ninth in defence (.973). This is the second and final head-to-head series of the season between the Winnipeg and Sioux Falls. The Goldeyes were 5-4 against the Canaries in 2020. PROJECTED UPCOMING PITCHING MATCHUPS TONIGHT’S STARTERS: The Goldeyes go with right- 6/13 vs. SF: RHP Joey Gonzalez (1-2, 8.55) vs. RHP Tyler Garkow (1-2, 6.47) hander Christian James who is 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA in 6/15 at CLE: TBA vs. TBA three starts and one relief appearance this season. James 6/16 at CLE: TBA vs. TBA took the loss at Chicago last Wednesday in the second 6/17 at CLE: TBA vs. TBA game of a double header, allowing three runs, one earned, on four hits over 4.1 innings. James walked three and struck out four. Prior to this season, James last pitched in 2019 where he was 3-11 with a 5.07 ERA in 21 starts and three relief appearances for the Low-A South Atlantic League’s Columbia Fireflies (New York Mets). James induced 15 groundball double plays, which tied for first in the South Atlantic League and tied for 15 th overall at all levels of the affiliated minor leagues. James was drafted by the Mets in the 14 th round in 2016 out of East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida. James was ranked the 30 th best prospect in the Mets’ organization by Baseball America in 2018. James is in his fifth season of professional baseball, and is 10-19 lifetime with a 3.70 ERA in 68 games, 50 of them as a starting pitcher. James has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 41 of 50 career professional starts. James is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in one career start against Sioux Falls. James is 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA in one career relief appearance at The Ballpark at Jackson. The Canaries go with left-hander Ty Culbreth who is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts this season. Culbreth is tied for sixth in the American Association in ERA. Culbreth picked up the win vs. Houston on Sunday, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits in 7.0 innings. Culbreth walked three and struck out six. Culbreth was 3-2 with a 6.32 ERA in seven starts for the Canaries last year. Culbreth walked two batters or less in five of his seven starts, and walked three batters or less in all of them. Culbreth also started Game Three of the 2020 American Association Championship Series vs. Milwaukee. Culbreth was 3-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance for the Double-A Eastern League’s Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) in 2019. Culbreth was drafted by the Rockies in the eighth round in 2016 out of the University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) where he was a combined 14-9 with a 3.47 ERA over four seasons for the Longhorns. Culbreth is in his sixth season of professional baseball and is 28-25 lifetime with a 4.55 ERA in 92 games, 77 of them as a starting pitcher. Culbreth has averaged just 2.0 walks per nine innings as a professional. Culbreth is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career start against Winnipeg. Tonight will be Culbreth’s first career appearance at The Ballpark at Jackson. GOLDEYES MANAGER: Rick Forney is now in his 16 th season as Goldeyes’ manager, and his 25 th overall within the organization. During his first 15 years at the helm, the Goldeyes have posted a .544 overall winning percentage (784-657), 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 again in 2020 after guiding a team that played all of its games on the road. Forney’s .551 winning percentage in the American Association (2011-20) is the fourth-highest in league history (there have been 58 total American Association managers through the 2020 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. TENNESSEE BOUND: Due to the ongoing closure of the Canada/US border, the Winnipeg Goldeyes have partnered with the Jackson Generals professional baseball club to host Winnipeg at The Ballpark at Jackson to begin the 2021 season. The Generals were a Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2019. The franchise hosted the Southern League All-Star Game on two occasions, and won four Southern League championships. The Generals are located in Jackson, Tennessee, which is 208 kilometres southwest of Nashville and 140 kilometres northeast of Memphis. THOMPSON HEADED TO CARDINALS: Right-handed pitcher Cory Thompson had his contract purchased by the St.