By Michael Barthelemy

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Chicago Dogs’ offensive woes continued in the series opener against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, falling 6-2.

Coming off getting swept at home against the Sioux City Explorers, Chicago returned from an off day against a Gary SouthShore squad they dominated against all season. The Dogs were 8-1 against the RailCats coming into tonight, with a 75 to 38 score differential.

Tonight, however, was for Adam Heidenfelder. The RailCats’ starter threw 5.1 innings and allowed two runs off of four hits. He was able to largely keep the Chicago lineup at bay to maintain an early Gary SouthShore lead. The Dogs struck out four times in the first two innings and did not earn a hit until the fifth.

Kyle Murphy surrendered four first inning runs to put himself in an early hole, but settled in once out of the jam. “The White Rhino” threw six total innings with those four runs allowed and a season-high seven strikeouts. In his past six starts, Murphy has allowed a first-inning run four times.

Gary SouthShore’s rally started immediately with a Thomas Walraven single and stolen base, an encapsulation of the RailCats’ gameplan. Manager Lamarr Rogers squad is second in the league in stolen bases and holds the single game record with 15 stolen bases last month.

A Jesus Marriga single then scored Walraven and two more runs scored from Victor Nova’s triple. Still with only one out, Sam Abbott sent a dribbler down the third base line. The third baseman Stevie Wilkerson rushed in to fire it to first base, but since the ground ball was so shallow, Wilkerson had no choice but to get the out at first base and allow Nova to score. The fielder’s choice made the game 4-0.

The lone pair of Chicago runs came off of a Grant Kay home run to left field, his 17th of the year. The long ball also snapped Chicago’s 22 inning scoreless streak.

Wilkerson broke his slump with a 3-for-4 night that included two doubles and a run. The pair of two-baggers were Wilkerson’s first extra-base hits since August 4 and first multi-hit game since August 2.

Ultimately, Chicago’s struggles came out of a lack of production from outside the five and six hole hitters. The Dogs’ seven other hitters combined for three hits.

Chicago was within two runs, but not for long. Michael Woodworth launched a solo home run in the seventh inning to make it 5-2, and an error by catcher Ryan Lidge scored the sixth run in the ninth. The Dogs could not fight back and fell quietly, 6-2.

Since July 26, Chicago is 4-9 and averaging less than four runs per game in that span. It’s the worst stretch that length this season and has correlation with injuries. Outfielder Danny Mars and bullpen arms Justin Goossen-Brown, James Reeves and Paul Schwendel are all sidelined.

The Dogs will send lefty Jeff Kinley to the mound tomorrow, hoping to break their current four game loss. Since entering the rotation, Kinley is 4-0 with an ERA of 3.00.