GARY, IN – The Lincoln Saltdogs turned two double plays and threw a runner out at the plate to hold off the Gary SouthShore RailCats 4-3 on Monday night.
Kyle Kinman earned the win by tossing six innings and allowing just one run on six hits. Jose Jose thwarted a ninth inning rally from the RailCats (42-30) to earn his 10th save.
RailCats starter Jeff McKenzie was dealing to start the game. The lefty retired the first 12 batters he faced; six by strikeout and six by fly out. Dating back to his July 1 start against Lincoln (34-39), McKenzie sent down 22 straight Saltdogs.
Lincoln’s offense finally broke through in the fifth inning. Curt Smith recorded the first hit and T.J. Bennett followed with another base knock. After a pop out, Dashenko Ricardo fired a ball off the second base bag for a single to load the bases. Ivan Marin drove in two runs with a two-out single to make it 2-0.
Gary SouthShore manufactured a run in the next half inning. Kinman hit Reggie Wilson with a pitch and he moved to second on a wild pitch. Then, D.K. Carey lofted a single to send in Wilson and make it a one-run game.
The Saltdogs turned to Derek Gordon to bridge between Kinman and Jose. The Lincoln native struck out the side in the seventh and retired all six batters he faced.
The Saltdogs added to their lead in the top of the ninth. Brandon Jacobs and Ricardo reached to start the inning. Cesar Valera singled in the first run and Christian Ibarra hit in the next runner to make it 4-1.
Gary SouthShore managed a rally in the ninth. Wilfredo Gimenez and Andy DeJesus scored on a pair of sacrifice flies to cut it to a one-run lead. Jose induced a fly out with the tying run at first base to end the game.
The Saltdogs try to clinch the series win on Tuesday in Gary. First pitch is at 7:10 PM with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM on ESPN 101.5 FM 1480 AM and http://www.espn1480.com/lincoln-saltdogs-baseball/.
For more information on the Saltdogs, follow the team on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball. For ticket information visit https://saltdogs.com/tickets/ or call (402) 474-2255.