Goldeyes bats explode, wallop RIverHawks

They say there is nothing better than a rest. For Juan Diaz, one night off almost made him a brand new man.

Diaz, the Goldeyes’ 36-year-old designated hitter, went four-for-four with a walk, a three-run homer, four RBI and three runs scored as he led the Goldeyes to an impressive 13-5 victory over the visiting Rockford RiverHawks at Canwest Park on Sunday afternoon.

Diaz had three singles and his league-leading 11th homer of the year as he led the Fish on a 16-hit assault of the RiverHawks. He also drove in his 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st runs and raised his batting average to .278.

“It was a good game for me after a day off,” said Diaz, the Shaw TV player of the game. “At 36-years-old I need a day off every now and then. We did the same thing last year. Sometimes I need to get things straightened out in my head and that night off did clear my head.”

With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 21-15 and won their third straight game. The Fish moved past Kansas City into second place in the Northern League, a-game-and-a-half back of first-place Fargo. The Goldeyes also won the four-game series from Rockford 3-1.

“It’s good to play at home,” Diaz said. “It’s nice to play in front of our big home crowds and in our ballpark. We all feel good in here.”

The Goldeyes are now 13-9 at Canwest Park this season and on Sunday afternoon, every hitter in the lineup was comfortable enough to pound out at least one hit. Rookie Price Kendall went three-for-five with two runs scored and two RBI and raised his batting average to .357; Vince Harrison continued his hot hitting by going two-for-four with a run scored and two driven in; Justin Justice went just one-for-four, but that “one” was a three-run homer; and Luis Alen went two-for-five with two runs scored and a RBI on a solo homer in the seventh.

Starter Chris Salamida went six complete innings and got the win. Zach Baldwin pitched three strong innings in relief and earned his third save of the year.

“We played a very good game,” Diaz said. “It was good for us to win three in a row before going out onto the road.”

The Fish will open a 10-day road trip with a game Monday night against Lake County in Kenosha, Wis. Ace Walker (2-2, 3.77 ERA) will get the start.

Holliman's start and West's homer send Fish past RiverHawks

Even after a three hour and 20 minute rain delay, the Winnipeg Goldeyes went out and played an almost perfect baseball game.

A great start by Mark Holliman and a three-run bomb by Kevin West turned out to be the big difference as the Goldeyes went out and whipped the visiting Rockford RiverHawks 7-3 at Canwest Park on Saturday night. With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 20-15 on the season and won their second straight game.

Mark Holliman worked six complete innings, allowed two runs on only four hits to earn the win and improve to 4-1 (although his ERA actually rose from 1.88 to 2.02) on the season. Holliman has been terrific in most of his starts this year and after waiting three hours and 20 minutes to take the mound on Saturday night, he was outstanding once again. However, because he walked four and struck out 10, threw 101 pitches after six innings so manager Rick Forney decided to go to the bullpen.

“That’s how it goes sometimes,” said Holliman afterward. “It’s (strikeouts) really not something you’re trying to do. You want to get in and out and let your hitters get out there and do their jobs. When I strike out a lot of hitters I don’t stay in the game that long because it means I’ve probably thrown a lot of pitches.

“What I’m trying to do is pitch to contact and let the defence get the job done. That’s a good hitting team over there. I’m surprised so many of them struck out. Just one of those nights.”
In total, Holliman and relievers Casey Hodges, Chad Benefield and Bobby Korecky struck out 13 RiverHawks. With 10 Ks on the night, Holliman now leads the Northern League with 47.

“The strike out pitch tonight was the slider,” Holliman said. “They were all over my fastball early tonight. Those guys are fastball hitters. I started out using the slider just to get them off the fastball, but by the end I was throwing almost exclusively fastballs and sliders.”

Offensively, the Goldeyes started slowly and fell behind 2-0 after three innings, but in the bottom of the fourth, red-hot Dee Brown delivered a two-out, two-run double to tie it up and then, in the fifth, Kevin West hit a monster three-run homer over the leftfield wall to all but seal the deal.

“He (former Goldeyes reliever Justin Knoff) threw me a fastball, belt high,” said West with a laugh. “If he wants to do that, well...”

In a very rare occurrence, the Goldeyes put up more runs than hits – seven runs on only six hits – but also in a very rare occurrence the Goldeyes also scored five of their runs when two were out. Dee Brown had the only multi-hit game with a double and a single.

Game 4 of this four-game series goes this afternoon at Canwest Park. Former Goldeyes starter, lefty Roger Lincoln (2-2, 5.06 ERA) will get the start for Rockford while Chris Salamida (4-2, 3.24 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Fish. Game time is 1:30 p.m.

Big comeback thrills crowd of nearly 7,000

The Winnipeg Goldeyes got exactly what they needed on Friday night: A big win in front of an even bigger crowd.

In the bottom of the eighth, and the Rockford RiverHawks leading 3-2, the Goldeyes got a little two-out lightning as Vince Harrison singled home the tying run and Dee Brown singled home the eventual winner as the Fish beat the visiting RiverHawks 5-3 in a rare late-inning comeback.

With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 19-15 on the season and put a stop to a mini-two-game losing streak.

“It’s always nice to watch our guys put some two-out hits together,” said starter Stephen Flake, who scattered six hits and allowed only one run over six-and-a-third innings of work.

“They were fun to watch tonight.

It was a terrific ball game. The Goldeyes took a 1-0 lead on a solo homer by Wes Long to open the first, Rockford tied it in the second and the Goldeyes went ahead 2-1 in the fourth when Justin Justice was hit, stole second and scored on a Harrison single.

Rockford put up a pair of runs against relievers Zach Baldwin and Philip Roy in the top of the eighth and then the Goldeyes put their comeback rally together. Aharon Eggleston singled to lead off and then after Juan Diaz struck out and Kevin West flied out to left, Justice singled to send Eggleston to third. Harrison tied the game with a hard single to right, then Brown knocked in the game winner with a flair to right, Luis Alen was walked intentionally and then Harrison scored when rookie Price Kendall was hit with the bases loaded.

It was a great night for Kendall who got his first hit as a professional plus his first RBI. However, it was a fabulous night for Harrison who had three hits in four trips, scored run, drove in two and raised his batting average to .279. He was hitting just .226 two weeks ago.

“Maybe I’m heating up with the weather. I hope so,” Harrison said with a smile. “It’s really just a matter of trying not to do too much. I was working in the cage with Tom (hitting coach Vaeth) yesterday and he just said keep it simple: Just get a pitch to hit and put a solid swing on the ball.

“Tonight I just stopped thinking too much. When I think too much, that’s when I think myself out of it. I just went up there looking for a pitch to hit and then tried to put a good swing on it. We were better tonight. Flake pitched a good game and we put together some two-out hits. That’s what we needed.”

Game 3 of this four-game series will be played tonight at Canwest Park. Mike (0-2, 3.18 ERA) will get the start for Rockford while Mark Holliman (3-1, 1.88 ERA) will take the ball for Winnipeg. Game time is 6 p.m.

Bello and bats struggle against Rockford

Some days, nothing goes right.

Starter Antony Bello lasted only an inning and a third while the Goldeyes offence just couldn’t get a big hit when needed as Winnipeg fell 7-1 to the Rockford RiverHawks in front of 5,611 at Canwest Park on Thursday night.

“Antony just couldn’t come up with a pitch when he needed it,” said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. “He’d thrown 61 pitches and only got four outs. He just couldn’t find a way and to avoid a chance at an injury, it was in his best interest and ours to get him out of there, let him think about it and we’ll talk tomorrow... make sure he’s ready to pitch another day.”

When Bello left the game, the Goldeyes were trailing 2-0. Reliever Ulysses Roque gave up three runs in two-and-two-third innings of work, Ian Thomas gave up two runs in four-and-a-third innings and Chad Benefield came in and got the final two outs in the ninth.

Rockford Catcher Travis Scott had a big night for the RiverHawks going two-for-five with a triple and a two run homer. The two-run bomb made it 4-0 and pretty much sealed the deal for Rockford.

“We finally got the lefty (Bello) out of there and I’m a lot more comfortable against right-handers,” Scott said. “He hung a change-up to me and I was able to get the barrel of the bat on it.

“This was a huge win for us. After a long bus trip, almost 17 hours, we were able to come up with a good effort. And Kyle (starter Wright) was great. He got ahead of almost every hitter he faced and didn’t walk anybody. It was a really great effort.”

The Goldeyes scored their only run in the sixth. With two out, Justin Justice doubled and then Vince Harrison singled to drive him home. It was Winnipeg’s second straight loss and dropped the Goldeyes to 18-15 on the season and 10-9 at home.

Game 2 of this four-game series will be played tonight at Canwest Park. Kyle Ruwe (1-4, 5.86 ERA) will get the start for Rockford while Stephen Flake (2-1, 2.96 ERA) will toe the slab for Winnipeg. Game time is 7 p.m.

Bullpen can't save it for Walker, Goldeyes fall 7-5 to Gary

Starter Ace Walker ground it out for six full innings and left the Winnipeg Goldeyes with a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh, but this time the bullpen just couldn’t hold on.

Although Zach Baldwin got the Fish through the top of the seventh inning and the Goldeyes scored a run in the bottom of seventh, the Gary SouthShore RailCats came back with two in the eighth off Baldwin and three more in the ninth off Philip Roy and beat the Fish 7-5 in from of 5,189 at Canwest Park on Wednesday night.

With the win, Gary took the three-game series in Winnipeg, 2-1, and pulled to within a half a game of third-place Winnipeg. The Goldeyes are now 18-14, while the Railcats are 18-15.

“It was a tough game tonight,” said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney, as the Fish fell to 10-8 at home this season. “Gary was knocking on the door all game and they finally knocked it down with some crooked numbers in the eighth and the ninth.

“We had no answer for their left-handed hitting in this series and we sure didn’t have an answer tonight. They probably hit .500 from the left side of the plate. They really grind out at-bats and they get hits when they needed them.”

The Goldeyes pounded out 14 hits, but just couldn’t get the big knocks when they needed them. Wes Long had a pair of hits and scored a run; Juan Diaz went three-for-four, drove in three and hit his 10th home run of the season (the second in as many nights); Kevin West was two-for-five with an RBI and a run scored, Aharon Eggleston went two-for- five with two runs scored and an RBI; and Vince Harrison went three-for-four.

“We had a couple of opportunities in the first and second innings but two double plays wiped them out,” Forney said. “We had five hits in the first two innings and didn’t score. That really hurt us.

“In the end we just couldn’t hold on. The bullpen has been bending, not breaking. Tonight, it broke down.”

Thursday night, the Rockford RiverHawks come to Winnipeg to face the Goldeyes. Antony Bello (1-2, 3.55) will get the start for Winnipeg, Game time tonight is 7 p.m. and if you can’t make it to the park, the game will be shown live on Shaw TV Channel 9.

Goldeyes get it all in win over Gary

Aharon Eggleston had a tough road trip through Chicagoland last week. Tuesday night, he snapped out of his mini-slump.

Eggleston has had three hits in four trips, scored two runs and drove in two more and made a spectacular catch in centerfield as he led the Goldeyes to a 9-3 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats at Canwest Park in downtown Winnipeg.

“We’ve been battling,” said Eggleston, as he was named Shaw TV’s Player of the Game. “Today we got to the park early, we got lots of swings in the cage, took extra batting practice, we were ready to go tonight. I think it showed in the results.”

It sure did. The Goldeyes pounded out 12 hits and put up four crooked numbers – three in the first, two in the third, two in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Besides Eggleston, red-hot Kevin West, newcomer Justin Justice and veteran Vince Harrison each had two-hits while Juan Diaz got everything going for the Goldeyes with a three-run home run in the first inning. Harrison and Justice each drove in two runs.

“We got off to a great start,” said Eggleston. “And Sal gave us a great effort. We had everything going tonight. We just have to keep it going.”

Starter Chris Salamida had a tremendous outing. He allowed just one run on seven hits through the first seven innings before getting tagged for three hits and a pair of runs in the ninth. Ulysses Roque came on with a man on and nobody out in the ninth and retired the three men he faced to give the Goldeyes their 18th win of the season.

At 18-13, the Goldeyes are in third place in the Northern League, but both first-place Fargo and second-place Kansas City lost on Tuesday night, so the Fish are just two games back of Fargo and a half-a-game behind the T-Bones.

Wednesday night, the Goldeyes play Gary in the final game of this three-game set. Ace Walker will toe the slab for the Fish. Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

Great Pitching Performance Wasted in 2-1 Loss to Gary

Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney made no excuses. The Goldeyes squandered “a fantastic” pitching performance by starter Mark Holliman and two rookie relievers in a 2-1 loss to the visiting Gary SouthShore RailCats at CanWest Park on Monday night.

“Our pitching was fantastic tonight,” said Forney after the game. “Chad (reliever Benefield) made one mistake. He hung a slider to a good hitter (Tanner Townsend) and he hit it out. But we didn’t lose this game because a rookie reliever made one mistake.

“It’s the same thing every game. We’re struggling to have good at bats. I feel that too many of us are giving up our at bats way too early. But we’ll keep grinding away and we’ll get back at it tomorrow night.”

With the loss, the Goldeyes fell to 17-13 on the season, third in the Northern League, just 2 ½-games back of first-place Fargo.

It was a frustrating loss for the Fish, a team with traditionally good hitters, who have been in some dreadful funks. Wes Long, who went into the game leading the NL in hitting at .356, had a rare zero-for-five night and watched his average drop to .341; Dee Brown went zero-for-four; and Josh Asanovich, who went into the game hitting just .180, went zero-for-three and dropped to .175.

In total, the Goldeyes had only five hits and scored their only run without an RBI. Aharon Eggleston singled, went to second on a passed ball, went to third on a fly ball to right off the bat of Juan Diaz, and scored on a wild pitch.

Meanwhile, the Goldeyes pitchers were very good. Starter Holliman pitched six full innings, allowed only one run on seven hits and dropped his earned run average to 1.88. Benefield pitched 1.2 innings and gave up the home run to Townsend – and nothing else. Rookie Casey Hodges pitched an inning and a third of hitless baseball to finish the game.

“We got two good pitching performances from two rookie right-handers tonight,” Forney said. “We’ll take that with us into Tuesday night’s game.”

Tuesday night, the Goldeyes play Gary in Game 2 of this three-game set. Chris Salamida (3-2, 3.26 ERA) will get the start for the Fish.

June 21: West Rakes on Road Trip. Still Happy to be Home

Kevin West stood around the batting cage just before the Goldeyes nine-game road trip through Chicagoland, blasting balls over the leftfield fence.

When asked to describe his hot start to the 2010 season, West snickered, then laughed and said, "I can flat-out hit."

He was joking, of course, but not all that much. It’s true that in his third year with the Goldeyes he’s off to his best start and during the Goldeyes eight-game trip to the Chicago area (one game was rained out), West hit a gaudy .375 and raised his batting average to .333 on the season. He’s tied (with Juan Diaz) for the team lead in runs batted in with 21, leads the team in doubles with 11, is second in on-base percentage at .402 and leads in slugging percentage at .520.

He’s fifth in the Northern League in hitting, fifth in RBI and second in doubles.

So was it the outstanding spring training he had with the Cincinnati Reds that set him up for this red-hot start?

"No, I think it was probably my 11 years of professional baseball experience," he said with a grin.

"Listen, this has always been my philosophy about baseball. Players will always do what players do. In other words, because we play 100 games or 125 games or 162 games, there are no flukes. Guys get off to slow starts and almost always finish where they’ve always finished in the past.

"Remember (Brent) Metheny or (Dustin) Richardson last year. They started off hitting like .400 for the first month, but by the end of the year, their betting averages were where they always are. That’s the thing about baseball. We play so many games that by the end of it all, you are what you are."

West is convinced that the criticism that has come with the Goldeyes 17-12 start has been directly related to hitters getting out of the gate slowly.

"Everything is so magnified in the first month or so," West said. "People say, ’Oh, so and so is in a slump, or so and so is red-hot.’ It’s true, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The guys will do what they’re capable of doing. Our .300 hitters will be .300 hitters. That’s just the way it goes.

"We haven’t been very good yet, but we’re still 17-12 and that’s pretty good. The guys will get it together and do what they’ve always done. This is a good team that will do well before the season is over."

True, but it still doesn’t explain why guys such as Vince Harrison and Dee Brown have been scuffling and West has been lighting it up.

"I made a conscious decision this year to concentrate on my defence," West said. "I feel that if you really try to play well when you’re out in the field, it will translate to your hitting. I’ve just tried to concentrate hard on every aspect of the game and so far, it’s been paying off."

West will have a chance to get back at it tonight at 7 p.m. when the Goldeyes play host to the Gary SouthShore RailCats at Canwest Park.

June 18: Asanovich Hits Another Bomb, Goldeyes Win 8-4

It’s been a struggle at the plate for second baseman Josh Asanovich this season, but here’s a sure sign he’s snapping out of it: he’s hit three home runs in three straight games.

Last night in Kenosha, Wis., Asanovich hit his third home run in as many outings as he led the Goldeyes to an 8-4 win over the Lake County Fielders. With the victory, the Fish moved to 16-10 on the season and remained in second place, two games back of first-place Fargo.

Asanovich had an outstanding night, going two-for-four with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three driven in. With that, he got his batting average back to an even .200. Asanovich now has three homers and 12 RBI on the season and while he’s hitting only .200, his slugging percentage has risen to .333 over the past week.

Meanwhile, Kevin West drilled his 10th double of the campaign and scored a run; Vince Harrison had two hits, drove in three and scored two; Dee Brown hit his ninth double, drove in a run and scored a run; and Jeremy Hamilton had a single, scored a run and drove in one as the bottom of the order combined for seven hits, six runs and seven driven in. It was the kind of team effort that manager Rick Forney had been expecting since he signed this veteran crew during the winter.

Meanwhile, starter Chris Salamida allowed only two runs on six hits over six complete innings, got his third win of the year and lowered his ERA to 3.26. Stephen Flake and Ulysses Roque each delivered a perfect inning of relief.

The Goldeyes have now won four straight on the road, are 4-1 on this road trip and will head into Joliet to begin a three-game set tonight before returning home to face Gary at Canwest Park on Monday.

June 17: Diaz, Asanovich Homer. Goldeyes Move Into Second Place

Another solid outing from starter Mark Holliman and home runs from Juan Diaz and Josh Asanovich gave the Winnipeg Goldeyes a 5-2 victory over the Lake County Fielders on Tuesday night.

The win was significant for a number of reasons:

(1) It gave the Goldeyes a 15-10 record, the first time this season the Fish have been more than four games above .500 and it moved them past the Kansas City T-Bones into second place in the Northern League.

(2) It gave the Goldeyes their third straight win, their longest road winning streak of the season and a win on Wednesday night in lake County will give the Fish their longest winning streak of the season – home or away.

(3) It gave the Goldeyes a 3-1 record on this Chicagoland road trip (Monday night’s game at Lake County), and with one more win, they’ll be guaranteed a .500 record on the road.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Goldeyes victory on Tuesday night – besides Juan Diaz’s eighth homer of the year and Asanovich’s second in as many games – was Holliman’s performance.

The Goldeyes’ outstanding righthander struck out seven to take over the league lead in strikeouts (34), lowered his ERA to 2.19 (fifth in the NL) and won his third game of the season (second in the NL).

Without question, this Goldeyes team hits well enough to win 60-70 games if it gets enough pitching. Holliman has shown that he’ll provide this team with six-seven solid innings every time out. Stephen Flake, Ace Walker, Chris Salamida and Antony Bello have all shown they can be lights out. The bullpen is improving every time out and Ian Thomas, Zach Baldwin, Philip Roy, Ulysses Roque and Bobby Korecky have all had outstanding appearances.

Hitting is fun and entertaining. People buy tickets to watch hitting. But all baseball fans know that pitching wins championships. After a 7-2 loss at Schaumburg in the first game of this road trip, the Goldeyes allowed only seven runs in their next three games.

It’s a simple assumption: Shut down the opposition and suddenly there is no pressure on the hitters.

June 11: Long’s Big Hit, Quality Pitching, Give Goldeyes Series Split

Mark Holliman did not deserve to take the loss and Wes Long knew it.

So in the bottom of the seventh, with one out and runners on second and third, the Winnipeg Goldeyes leading hitter delivered. Long drilled a solid single to leftfield to score Vince Harrison and Josh Asanovich with the tying and eventual winning runs as Winnipeg came from behind to beat the Kansas City T-Bones 2-1 in a cold, damp thriller at Canwest Park.

On just a miserable day for baseball, the Goldeyes got a tremendous start from Holliman who left the game after six complete innings having allowed only one run on two hits. In fact, Holliman paid dearly for the only mistake he made, leaving a high fastball out over the plate that Kansas City’s hottest hitter, Ray Sadler, smacked over the left-centerfield fence.

It looked like Holliman might take the loss, but Long came up with the game’s big hit in the seventh and then Ian Thomas, who got the win and improved to 4-0 on the season, and Philip Roy, who picked up his fourth save, shut own the T-Bones for the final three innings as Winnipeg split a four-game series with first-place Kansas City.

"It was my first at bat off the relief pitcher (Drew Graham), a guy ‘d never seen before," said Long after the game. "He threw me a fastball in the middle of the zone on the first pitch and I took it, so that’s what I looked for on his second pitch. He threw exactly the same pitch and I was able to get the barrel of the bat on it and hit it into leftfield.

"That was a huge win for us," Long added. "Especially after the whooping they laid on us on Monday (Kansas City won Game 1 of the series 12-3 on Monday and then won Game 2, 7-2). We were able to pull off a win in the second game last night and this was really just a huge win. When you’re going out on the road to play nine games in 10 days, it’s really nice to get on the bus coming off a win."

The Goldeyes will play three games in Schaumburg this weekend and then move on to play three in Lake County and three in Joliet before returning home to play Gary on Student Night -- Monday night, June 21.

June 11: Ugly Win Just Fine for Forney

Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney had no trouble winning ugly on Wednesday.

"You have to win a few games like that," Forney said, "because you sure lose enough of them."

After losing 7-2 to the visiting Kansas City T-Bones in the continuation of Tuesday night’s rain-suspended game, the Goldeyes bounced back and won Wednesday night’s regularly scheduled affair 7-6.

But it took a long time and convoluted route for the Goldeyes to get to their 11th win of the season.

Winnipeg came out behind starter Antony Bello and built a 5-1 lead through the first three innings of the seven-inning game. By the time Bello sat down after five complete, the Goldeyes led 6-2.

But then the bullpen blew up once again. Philip Roy was tagged for four runs in the sixth (although Ian Thomas gave up the double to light-hitting Jimmy Mojica that allowed the final two runs to score) and despite a great start from Bello, the game was tied 6-6 heading into the seventh.

And that’s when the Goldeyes finally got a break. Vince Harrison was hit by a pitch, moved to second on an error, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch by T-Bones reliever Kyle Dahman. It wasn’t pretty but in a seven-inning game that took two hours and 47 minutes to play, the Goldeyes finally got a victory and improved to 11-9 on the season.

"It was not a good day for us," said Forney. "We have a lot of work to do. The bullpen is scuffling along and we have to get better defensively. Despite all of that, it’s nice that we have a chance to get a split in this series on Thursday."

After losing the series opener 12-3 on Monday and then the suspended game 7-2, the Goldeyes did get a win in Game 3 of the four-game set with first-place Kansas City. Thursday’s game, which starts at 11 a.m., features Goldeyes starter Mark Holliman who is 2-1 with a 2.25 earned run average.

"I’m not really paying attention to our record these days," said Forney. "I’m concerned about the way our ball cub is playing. The effort is good. They’re trying. They’re just struggling.

"Our starting pitching has been getting the job done, but all these short starts because of the rain has really beaten up our entire pitching staff. Bello is coming along and (Stephen) Flake pitched real well in the suspended game, but the rain hasn’t helped us much.

"I just hope we start to play better. We’re scuffling along right now."

June 8: Kansas City Scores 12 Runs on 16 Hits. Filets Fish 12-3.

The Kansas City Lumber Company came to Canwest Park Monday night and lit up the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Behind a solid start from lefty Ryan Knippschild and a grand slam home run off the bat of Brian Joynt, the first-place T-Bones drilled the Fish 12-3 in the first game of a four-game series at Winnipeg’s downtown ballpark. With the win, the T-Bones improved to 11-5 on the season while the Goldeyes fell to 10-8.

"They’re way better than we are," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney bluntly. "They had good pitching, great defense, great hitting with a bunch of home runs and they put up some crooked numbers. They had a real good game tonight."

Kansas City put up 12 runs on 16 hits as Joynt had a double and a grand slam, drove in five and scored three. Second baseman Jake Blackwood also homered for K.C. as the T-Bones had eight extra-base hits off starter Ace Walker and relievers Ulysses Roque and Austin Donmoyer.

"We’ve got a lot of holes right now," Forney said. "We aren’t very good right now. I don’t feel we’ve been very good for two weeks. It’s making me think of making some adjustments here way before I wanted to."

The game was put out of reach when Joynt hit his grand slam in the eighth – that made it 8-2 for Kansas City -- but Forney believed the turning came in the top of the second inning. The Fish were leading 1-0 after Kevin West tripled home Aharon Eggleston, when Winnipeg gave up three in the top of the second and even though Juan Diaz hit a solo shot in the fifth, Winnipeg never had a sniff of the lead again.

"What happened in the second inning changed the game," Forney said. "We got a leadoff ground ball to third base and we didn’t make the play and then there was double play to second and we didn’t turn it. Because of that, they scored three runs. We aren’t getting the job done defensively and we haven’t been getting the job done all year. We have to improve on defense. And we need to do it in a hurry here."

The Goldeyes will get a chance to even the series on Tuesday night. Righty Stephen Flake will get his first start for the Goldeyes while former Goldeye Andrew Cruse will take to the bump for K.C. Game time is 7 p.m. The game is on Shaw TV Channel 9.

Photo: Shawn Coates

June 7: Long’s Three-Run Bomb, 10-game hitting streak, give Goldeyes 5-4 win over Schaumburg

Wes Long doesn’t think about hitting streaks. In fact, the Goldeyes shortstop looks at hitting much more simply – one at-bat at a time.

Yesterday afternoon, however, it was his second trip to the plate that made the difference. With Vince Harrison and Josh Asanovich on base, Long belted a three-run homer to give Winnipeg a 5-0 advantage in the second inning. It not only kept a 10-game hitting streak alive, it also gave the Goldeyes enough runs to win their 10th game of the year.

With starter Chris Salamida pitching well (one run on five hits over seven full innings) and with Bobby Korecky shutting the door in the ninth (it was Korecky’s first save since joining the Goldeyes last week), the Fish overcame a shaky bullpen to hold on and beat the Schaumburg Flyers 5-4. With the victory, the Goldeyes improved to 10-7 and won a three game set with the Flyers at Canwest Park.

"I’m not thinking about any streak – unless it’s 40 games, that would be different," Long said with a laugh. "Right now I’m just trying to go up there every time and get a hit. I’m been doing pretty good just trying to swing at good pitches.

"I’m trying to separate every at bat and to concentrate on every pitch, each time I go up to the plate."

Whatever the plan, it’s working. Long went one-for-three with a walk, two runs scored and three driven in during yesterday’s win and even so, he watched his batting average dip a little to a still-awesome .388. He remains the Northern League leader in hitting and is among the league leaders in RBI (13), runs scored (11), doubles (7) and slugging percentage (.582). Pretty good for a middle infielder who bats in the leadoff spot.

And yet, Long isn’t satisfied. After missing the second half of last season with a broken ankle, the 27-year-old (he turns 28 this Saturday) from Seattle will admit he’s not yet at 100 per cent.

"My defence hasn’t been as good as it should be," Long said. "My footwork isn’t where it should be and I‘ve thrown the ball away a few times. I have to improve on that. I’m not close to the top level yet. I still have stuff to work on."

At 10-7, the Goldeyes are third in the Northern League, a game and a half back of first-place Kansas City. And it’s the T-Bones who come to town Monday night to start a four-game series at Canwest Park.

Photo: Shawn Coates

June 6: Forney Manages His 400th Game With the Goldeyes

On his first day as a manager, Rick Forney was nervous. These days, Forney takes every game in stride. Still, when you’ve reached a milestone as a manager at any level of baseball, it’s an emotional day.

And it will be an emotional day Sunday afternoon at Canwest Park, as Winnipeg Goldeyes field boss Rick Forney manages his 400th game.

“It’s gone by quick,” Forney told Paul Edmonds yesterday. “I guess there is something to be said for longevity.”

Forney was being modest. With a record of 219-179 and a .550 percentage he’s one of the most successful managers in the Northern League. He’s never failed to put up a winning record and he’s made the playoffs in all four years he’s been the Goldeyes manager.

And yet, back in 2006 when he took over the job from his mentor Hal Lanier, Forney was “nervous and emotional” when he finally took the Goldeyes onto the field at Canwest Park.

“It was really an emotional day,” Forney recalled. “The first one was against Hal (Lanier) and I’m still convinced that when Hal got that job in Joliet, the league did it (scheduled the Goldeyes and JackHammers to open the season) on purpose.

“But it was very emotional. It was my first day handing in a lineup card with my signature on it and it was against Hal, a guy I’d spent years sitting beside in the dugout learning how to do this job. Couldn’t have had a better teacher.”

Darwin Soto was the Goldeyes pitcher that day and even though he got hit hard, it seemed as if every line drive the JackHammers hit, the ball fell into a Goldeyes’ defender’s glove. The Goldeyes won the opener and went on to sweep the series.

“It was fun,” Forney said of that first weekend series. “We swept Joliet, but all weekend, I remember I was nervous.”

Now, almost 220 wins later, Forney has become very comfortable in his role. It’s his job now and while he still gets fired up for every game, the nervousness is gone.

“I’ve grown to feel that I’m pretty good at this,” Forney conceded. “I have an understanding of this league and the players who play in it. I love the job and I’m very lucky to get to do this every day.”

June 5: Bello Gets First Win, Brown Goes Deep. West Keeps Hitting, Goldeyes Beat Flyers 6-4

Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney has made no bones about the fact he loves Antony Bello’s arm. As it gets more work, it appears as if Bello’s arm is starting to love Forney back.

Friday night at Canwest Park, Bello went five complete innings, throwing 63 pitches while allowing only two runs on four hits as he gained his first Northern League victory, a 6-4 Goldeyes win over the visiting Schaumburg Flyers.

"I’m starting to get it (his arm) stretched out," Bello said afterward. "It was a long bus trip back from Gary. I threw 63 pitches tonight. Hopefully I’ll throw 80 on Wednesday in my next start. Depends how the game goes, but I’m starting to feel really good."

Bello, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Miami, last started a game back in November of 2009 in the Florida Winter League. His last previous start was in September of 2008. From September of ’08 until his first start of the year with the Goldeyes back on May 22, Bello had a grand total of three starts.

But when coach Rudy Arias scouted Bello in Miami last winter, he saw a guy who could come in and be a quality starter in the Northern League. Every time out he seems to get better. Friday night he lowered his ERA to 4.97 and improved his record to 1-2.

"I’ve been impressed with the hitters in this league, they’re competitive hitters," he said. "They all swing the bat pretty well but they’re patient as well. They’re really competitive."

The hitting heroes for the Goldeyes last night were Wes Long, Dee Brown, Kevin West and Luis Alen. Long had three hits in four trips and scored two runs; Brown hit a 410-foot solo homer over the centerfield wall in the fifth; West went two-for-four with an RBI and raised his batting average to .353; and Alen had a two-run single in the fourth.

In all, the Goldeyes pounded out 11 hits as they improved to 9-6 on the season.

Game 2 of this three-game series goes Saturday night at 6 at Canwest Park. Dustin Glant will get the start for Schaumburg while Mark Holliman will take to the bump for the Fish. Tickets are available at the box office or by calling 982-2273.