The Gary SouthShore RailCats (5-3) got their offense early, and a dominant effort on the mound backed it up as they took down the Lincoln Saltdogs (3-5) 4-1.
The RailCats struck early against Saltdogs starter John Bezdicek, tagging him for three runs in the second inning. Dorssys Paulino and Daniel Lingua singled before Michael Woodworth got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and an error on a pop fly to right field enabled two runs to score. The next batter, Jesus Marriaga, legged out an infield single, bringing Woodworth across home plate to cap off the rally.
Gary SouthShore’s lineup struck again in the fifth as they continued to add on in the middle innings. Marriaga led off by doubling down the right field line, and after a flyout moved him up to third, LG Castillo promptly singled him in, increasing the RailCats’ lead to four.
Castillo’s RBI gives him 12 through his first eight games, tying him for second in the American Association. Additionally, he now sports a hit in each game so far, pushing his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to the end of last season.
All while the batting order built a lead, starter Chris Erwin stymied the Saltdogs during his 5.1innings on the mound. He did not allow a run on three hits, walking one and striking out three to earn the win.
Ben Miller entered from the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth and immediately picked up where Erwin left off. He pieced together his longest outing of the year so far at 1.2 innings, permitting just one hit as he held Lincoln in check.
The Saltdogs scratched across their lone run in the ninth inning through a Nick Anderson solo home run, but they could not build upon the big swing as the next three batters went down in order as the RailCats nailed down the win.
The RailCats battle the Saltdogs at 1:05 p.m. tomorrow at Haymarket Park as they eye their third consecutive series win to open the campaign. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv and broadcast on the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
