The Gary SouthShore RailCats (25-34) brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but their comeback effort came up just short in an 8-5 defeat to the Chicago Dogs (29-30) on Thursday afternoon.
Harrison Francis started on the mound for the ‘Cats and continued his fine run of form. Coming off a quality start against the West Division-leading Kansas City Monarchs, the right-hander fired five shutout innings and allowed just two hits. Francis struck out four Dogs batters and exited in line for the win.
Victor Nova gave the righty some run support. On the first pitch of the third inning, he crushed his sixth home run of the season, opening the scoring to give Gary SouthShore a 1-0 advantage.
But in the sixth, Chicago flipped the game. The Dogs scored six times to take a 6-1 lead.
It took no time, though, for the RailCats to deliver an emphatic response. Jackson Valera singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and two batters later, Jesus Marriaga earned a walk. Immediately after a Dogs pitching change, Francisco Del Valle connected on a three run homer into the ‘Cats bullpen to bring Gary SouthShore back in it at 6-4.
The Dogs responded by tallying a run apiece in the eighth and ninth innings to build a four-run cushion. However, that could not prevent a high-tension bottom of the ninth inning.
The first three RailCats all reached to begin the frame. Nova singled and Will Decker walked on four pitches before Daniel Lingua notched an infield single of his own. The Dogs recorded the first out on a force out at home plate, but Valera grounded out to brought Decker home and make it an 8-5 game. As the tying run remained in the batter’s box, Dogs shortstop Josh Altmann pulled off tough play on an infield grounder to end the game.
The RailCats continue their first series against the Dogs this season tomorrow night with first pitch at 6:45 p.m. from The Steel Yard. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv and broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.