By Jack Ankony

Milwaukee starter Myles Smith fanned 12 Dogs hitters through four and two-thirds innings on Thursday.

But the Dogs’ patient leadoff man Brennan Metzger waited back on breaking ball and scorched it over the left field wall. Metzger’s fourth home run of the season tied the game at two runs apiece and was a stepping stone in the Dogs’ effort to avoid the series sweep.

However, the Dogs failed to advance runners past second base over the final four innings of Thursday’s contest, falling 4-2 to the Milkmen.

The momentum from Metzger’s game-tying home run in the fifth was short lived as former Dog Tony Rosselli singled home Trey Martin to regain the lead in the bottom half. Aaron Hill pounded a home run off Cam Booser in the seventh to secure the Milkmen victory.

With this loss, the Dogs dropped their third game in a row to complete a road sweep at the hands of Milwaukee. This means the Milkmen hold a three-game lead in the division 60 games into the Dogs’ season. 

Hawaiian left hander Ryley Widell made his third start for the Dogs after being signed on July 11. Widell has been a steady presence since joining the Dogs, but has struggled to pitch deep into games. Widell tossed three and one-third of an inning on Thursday, allowing three hits, two earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts. 

Dogs reliever John Baker was credited with the loss after allowing the Rosselli RBI single in the fifth inning. Baker struck out two Milkmen across one and two-thirds innings and was replaced by Justin Goossen-Brown in the sixth. 

Goossen-Brown and closer Jeff Kinley combined for two scoreless innings with one hit, leaving the door open for a potential Dogs comeback. But the Dogs struck out a season-high 17 times on Thursday, which made a late-inning rally difficult.

The Dogs return home to Impact Field on Friday to begin a weekend series with the Cleburne Railroaders. This will be the Dogs’ first of two series with Cleburne before heading to Texas on Aug. 2.

This weekend’s series will feature two teams that are currently ranked second in their respective American Association divisions.