August 6: Good Pitching, Solid Defence, No Bats In 2-0 Loss To Joliet

Goldeyes manager Rick Forney was philosophical following Wednesday’s disappointing 2-0 loss to the last-place Joliet JackHammers.

“Some nights you have it, some nights you don’t.”

“That game was well-pitched and well-defended,” Forney added. “(Joliet starter Devin) Anderson did a fine job from them tonight. He had the change-up working and you know that in this league a good change-up from the left-side is like Kryptonite.

“It was just one of those games. We played good defence and we pitched well enough to win, but we didn’t get the hits we needed when we needed them although I thought the strike zone was a little pitcher-friendly tonight. When you see 10, 12, 14 strikeouts in a 2-0 game, then the zone is a little pitcher-friendly.”

It was a tough loss to take for Goldeyes starter, Mark Michael (2-3). Michael went five innings and allowed two runs on only four hits while striking out seven. Zach Baldwin, Andrew Cruse and Matt Davis pitched the final four innings and allowed no runs on only three hits.

“Mark battled out there tonight,” Forney said. “He deserved a better fate.”

For the Goldeyes, it was the fourth time this season the team had been shutout and with the loss, Winnipeg’s seven-game home winning streak came to an end.

As well, with Gary’s 4-1 win over Schaumburg on Wednesday night, Winnipeg’s first-place lead in the Northern League fell to two-and-a-half games over the RailCats.

It was a pretty dull ball game, but in fairness, the Fish made it exciting in the ninth. With two out, Cody Ehlers doubled and went to third on a single by Adam Frost. Frost stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Joliet closer Drew Shetrone struck out pinch-hitter Kurt Crowell for the final out.

“We did make it exciting in the ninth,” Forney said with a smile. “We gave ourselves a chance to win. Kurt really battled, but Shetrone got him. Drew’s a really good pitcher.”

The final game of this three-game series between the Goldeyes and Joliet goes tonight at Canwest Park at 7:00.