By Jesus Mauricio LINCOLN, Neb. — No matter how dominant a team is playing, wins never come automatically, and last night proved just that for the Dogs. Despite winning 10 of their last 11 games, the second matchup in Lincoln was a forgetful one for the Dogs. Of course, the task of facing Greg Minier, [...]
By Jack Ankony Whether he’s ending a one-two-three inning with a strikeout, escaping a jam by inducing a double play or giving up a home run, Christian Friedrich has the same feeling going into the next pitch: confidence. His four seasons at the MLB level and 13 years as a professional allow for that. Friedrich [...]
By Jack Ankony Facing a 3-1 count with two runners on, it was time for T.J. Bennett to get picky. Brennan Metzger started the game with a walk, and Michael Crouse followed Metzger’s lead with a single. Together, the two saw nine pitches that revealed the game plan of Sioux Falls starter Blake Svoboda. Bennett [...]
By Jack Ankony The Dogs capped off a series victory in Cleburne with a 6-1 win over the Railroaders on Wednesday night. With this win, the Dogs move into sole possession of second place in the North division in what promises to be a heated playoff race until the final day of the regular season. [...]
By Jack Ankony Butch Hobson called Kyle Murphy’s first professional outing on July 30 a “bulldog start.” But Hobson will now have to find a better superlative to describe Murphy’s second start for the Dogs on Aug. 4 after Murphy pitched eight and one-third of an inning while allowing three hits, one run, two walks [...]
By Jack Ankony If a breaking ball is hung in the zone to Michael Crouse, chances are he’ll make the pitcher pay. Facing a 1-0 deficit and a 2-2 count with two outs in the third inning, Crouse was all over Kody Bullard’s belt-high breaking ball. The Dogs’ center fielder blasted a moonshot over the [...]
By Jack Ankony Mystical forces may have been listening to the dugout conversations at Impact Field. As Grant Kay sprinted to third base in the fourth inning of the Chicago Dogs’ 11-7 win over the Kane County Cougars on July 29, manager Butch Hobson tossed his palms to the sky. Kay had to settle [...]
By Jack Ankony Michael Crouse wouldn’t let the Dogs go down easily after trailing by five runs in the seventh inning, Crouse battled through an 0-2 count and crushed a three-run home run over the left field wall. Cutting the deficit to one run, the Dogs seemingly had life. But Cleburne responded with three runs [...]
By Jack Ankony The accomplishment of winning his 2,100th game as a manager hasn’t sunk in for Chicago Dogs skipper Butch Hobson, but he is already setting new goals. Hobson began his professional baseball career in 1975 as a 23-year-old third baseman for the Boston Red Sox and is now approaching his 70th birthday in [...]
By Jack Ankony It would be hard to guess the score of the game given a close-up shot of the Dogs’ dugout. A level-headed mentality is employed throughout the veteran-led clubhouse, which doesn’t allow its players to get too high or too low in any situation. This culture was vital in the Dogs’ afternoon contest [...]