Shutout win caps series victory in Lincoln for first-place Dogs

After a 5-2 victory on Tuesday and an 8-0 shutout loss on Wednesday, the Dogs rallied for a 2-0 win in Thursday’s rubber match in Lincoln to clinch a series win and tie Milwaukee for first place in the North.

Kyle Murphy has been lights-out for the Dogs since his signing in late July. Murphy rose to the occasion Tuesday, pitching 5.2 innings and only giving up five hits with one run, two walks and no strikeouts. Both offenses struggled with the starters, but the Dogs pounced on relief pitcher Jake Hohensee in the fifth and sixth innings to put them ahead late in the game. Meanwhile, the Dogs defense stood their ground in committing no errors.

Unlike the smooth sailing the day before, Wednesday’s game would have different plans. ERA league leader Greg Minier took the mound for Lincoln on Wednesday. The game got out of hand early, Lincoln had already put up six runs by the fourth inning. A costly error in the second inning rallied Lincoln for two runs on four consecutive singles. Later in the sixth, Lincoln’s David Vidal would hit a three-run home run to put the Dogs in a 6-0 hole. The Dogs offense was quiet all night in an 8-0 loss.

Thursday’s game should go down as one of the grittiest wins of the season. After being shut out the day before, the Dogs coasted on what they do best. Jordan Kipper delivered just what the Dogs needed against Lincoln. In six innings of work, Kipper only allowed five hits with no runs, no walks and nine strikeouts. K.C. Hobson redeemed himself with a statement solo home run in the third inning, for his team-leading 19th of the year. Danny Mars would later score Cos Cannella on an RBI single in the fourth to provide the Dogs with insurance for the later innings. And the Dogs bullpen would take it from there, only allowing one hit to close out the game, 2-0.