Goldeyes Seal Doubleheader Sweep With 3-0 Combined No-Hitter

SIOUX FALLS, SD -- It was a rough Wednesday night for the Sioux Falls Canaries as they dropped both games of a doubleheader to the Winnipeg Goldeyes following a rainout Tuesday evening.

The team from Canada took the first contest 7-1 thanks to a complete game from starting pitcher Chris Salamida and completed the two-game sweep with a combined no-hit 3-0 victory over the Canaries (6-13).

“I don’t know that there’s a way to be more frustrated,” said manager Steve Shirley.  “I appreciate the effort given by our starting pitchers and our bullpen, but even the pitchers would be hard pressed to say, ‘Boy we pitched great but we lost.’”

The Canary bats continued their struggles into the second game of the day despite being backed by a solid starting performance from Joe Bircher, who allowed three earned runs in six innings while whiffing four and walking two.

“He (Bircher) threw the ball really well,” said Shirley.  “In this league if you give six innings and give up two or three runs, that’s a winnable start. That’s a start that you anticipate being able to do enough to be competitive.”

Winnipeg used five different pitchers to curtail the Sioux Falls offense, allowing the only Canary base runners of the night on three walks.  Goldeye starting pitcher Gabe Aguilar left the game after only 2.1 innings, though his colleagues would have no problem carrying the load the rest of the way for the 3-0 no-hitter.  The Canaries finished the day’s doubleheader being outscored by their opponent 10-1 and now find themselves in the midst of a five-game losing streak.

“From a pitching standpoint I’m not disappointed at all,” said Shirley.  “From a defensive standpoint I’m not disappointed at all. From an offensive standpoint, how can you not be disappointed?”

In the opening game of the twinbill, Salamida earned his second win of the season, throwing a complete game in a 7-1 Goldeyes victory.  The southpaw struck out five while only walking one and allowing one run.

Winnipeg took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Tyler Kuhn drew a leadoff walk off Canaries starter Kyle Vazquez and stole second.  He eventually scored on a wild pitch and the Goldeyes, once taking the lead, never looked back.  They added one more in the fourth, two more in the fifth and then scored three additional runs in the sixth off reliever Erick Gonzalez.

Luis Allen and Donnie Webb each drove in two runs for the Goldeyes.

Vazquez tossed five innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out and walking three hitters.

The Canaries lone run came in the fourth inning.  Trailing 2-0, Carlos Mendez led off with a single and scored on a ground ball by AJ Kirby-Jones.  The bats were otherwise quiet, only mustering five hits and one walk in the game.

The Canaries will finish their eight-game homestand Thursday hoping to avoid a sweep against the Goldeyes in a 7:05 PM start.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Canaries