ROSEMONT, Ill. – Talk about flipping the script.
After being blown out 12-2 only 15 hours before, the Chicago Dogs had a similar offensive explosion to overtake the Winnipeg Goldeyes, 12-6.
It’s fitting that the Dogs came to play on National Hot Dog Day. In a special edition of Weiner Wednesday, Chicago put together rallies of five, four and three. Catcher Ryan Lidge held a hot bat and finished 2-for-5 with a home run for three total runs and three RBI. Center fielder Charlie Tilson returned to the lineup and went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs.
The Dogs hit two home runs, courtesy of Lidge and K.C. Hobson, but this game was not won from a handful of swings. Every player in the Chicago lineup picked up a hit for 17 total knocks.
That hot offense was paired with a strong start from Jordan Kipper. The righty tossed six innings, allowed two runs, walked one and struck out eight. Winnipeg’s two-run rally came in the sixth inning, when Chicago was already up a dozen.
You could sense it would be a good day for Chicago when Tilson took the second pitch of the game the opposite way for a double off the wall. Lidge drove him in with a single and Hobson drove in the catcher with his two-run oppo taco shot.
The Dogs put together three more hits in the inning to score two and finish the first frame up 5-0.
In the fourth inning, Chicago quickly loaded the bases and capitalized with three singles and a reach-by-error to drive in four more runs. With how Kipper was pitching through four innings, the rally more or less put the game away.
That high game-winning percentage didn’t stop the Dogs from piling on the runs. It was clear Chicago’s lineup hit with a vengeance after losing by double-digits the night before. Winnipeg brought in righty Jhon Vargas from the bullpen in the fifth and shortstop Connor Kopach immediately jumped on him for a single. Tilson brought two men to scoring position with his second double and left fielder Michael Crouse drove in Kopach from a groundout.
Lidge stepped in already with two RBI and a chance to add on more with Tilson 90-feet away. The distance didn’t matter because the former Goldeye hit a ball to deep center and gone to make the lead 12-0.
Kipper’s one blip in the game came in the sixth inning. The former TCU Horned Frog surrendered four singles to Winnipeg, which scored two runs. The pair didn’t make much of a difference in terms on game atmosphere, but it put an end to the shutout opportunity.
The Goldeyes smacked two home runs in the eighth inning to make the score 12-6, but reigning Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week Joe Cavallaro shut the door in the ninth to secure the win. The series will be decided in game three on Thursday at 6 p.m.