The Gary SouthShore RailCats were back in action after winning the final game of a 3 game series in Sioux Falls. Game 1 between the RailCats and the Chicago Dogs was an absolute barn burner. The Dogs were 4th in the East and the ‘Cats trailed them by 7 games, and each team desperately wanted the win, and Carlos Sanabria for the ‘Cats and Steven Lacey for the Dogs tried to deliver for their squads.
The ‘Cats were the first to strike on Star Wars night and Guillermo Quintana reached on an error from the Dog’s third baseman, Dusty Stroup. Miguel Sierra drove home Quintana on the very next at bat with an RBI single, and the ‘Cats had a 1-0 lead.
Gary built the lead in the 6th when Marcos Gonzalez nailed a 1-out double and was brought home by Olivier Basabe on the very next at bat. The Cats lead the Dogs 2-0 heading into the top of the 7th.
On the other side of the ball, Carlos Sanabria was working a perfect game through 5 innings and a no-hitter through 6. However, the former major leaguer was replaced by Destin Dotson in the 7th, and the lengthy left hander allowed a solo home run to Zion Pettigrew that scored the first run of the night for the Dogs.
The rivals were then locked in a pitching duel until the top of the 9th inning when the RailCats turned to their closer, Nate Alexander. Brantley Bell and Narciso Crook led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and both stole a base to get to 3rd and 2nd respectively.
Manager Lamarr Rogers then intentionally walked Zion Pettigrew, Nate Alexander struck out Gus Sosa, and with 2 outs on the scoreboard and two men in scoring position, the fate of the Dogs laid in the hands of Johnni Turbo, and he delivered. The scrapy righty knocked an opposite field single just under the glove of a diving Francisco Del Valle, and two Chicago Dogs came home making it a 3-2 lead for the Dogs. Dusty Stroup then added to the pile, singling to bring home Pettigrew to make the contest 4-2 in favor of Chicago.
The ‘Cats made some contact in the bottom of the 9th but couldn’t break through the pitching of Joey Marciano. The Dogs took the 4-2 win at the Steel Yard, bumping them to 29-27 and shooting down the ‘Cats to 21-35.
The two Chicagoland teams are back at it tomorrow at 4:00 pm CT. Lamarr Rogers is handing the ball to Franklin Perez for the first time this season, and the Dogs are handing it to Jake Carroll. The game will be broadcasted on www.AABaseball.TV, MIXLR, and WE.FM 95.9.
