By Jack Ankony
It’s almost becoming predictable at this point.
While the Dogs are just five games in to the 2021 season, and have yet to play a regular season game at Impact Field, they have put the league on notice. No lead is too large in any inning. After scoring three runs in the ninth to force extra innings last night and scoring the game winning run in the eighth on Thursday at Kane County, the Dogs did it again tonight.
The Dogs’ bats got hot in the seventh and ninth inning tonight, but Winnipeg also did its fair share to hand this game to the Dogs. Three passed balls in the 11th inning allowed two Dogs runners to score, and a Ryan Lidge two-run double sealed the deal in a 9-5 win. The Dogs scored nine unanswered runs in the comeback victory.
The Dogs trailed 5-1 through three innings after starter Garrett Christman gave up five runs in 2.1 innings of work. But as this team seems to prefer, it was a different game when the seventh inning began.
Ryan Lidge began the inning with a single, and Grant Kay found a gap deep enough in the outfield to score Lidge from first in the following at bat. Kay’s double ignited the offense in the seventh, and the Dogs looked like a far more confident team at the plate later in the game.
Like the seventh inning, the ninth began with hits from Lidge and Kay. Anfernee Grier advanced the pair to second and third base, setting Harrison Smith up for an RBI single to make it a one-run game.
This clutch, late-game hitting has defined the Dogs start to the 2021 season and is a promising sign moving forward. The Dogs stranded runners in the first six innings, but were able to execute when it mattered most late in the game. This isn’t by design, but it’s working for the Dogs.
The rubber match between the Dogs and Goldeyes will begin at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow and will feature Conner Grey of the Dogs versus Eduard Reyes for Winnipeg. After two late-night, extra-inning thrillers, it’s safe to say that no lead is safe against the Dogs in 2021.