GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Christian Ibarra had a double and had two strikeouts in his first-ever professional pitching appearance, but the ‘Dogs lost 18-2 to the Texas AirHogs at AirHogs Stadium on Friday night.
Ibarra pitched the 8th inning and worked around a leadoff single with two strikeouts in the inning.
In the 9th, Shairon Martis pinch-hit for Tyler Moore after Joe Lytle tripled to left-center, and drove in his first RBI since 2010 – when he was with AAA Syracuse in the Nationals’ system.
Lincoln opened the scoring in the 1st inning on Randolph Oduber’s RBI groundout, but the AirHogs scored three times in the 1st and 2nd innings, eight times in the 3rd, three times in the 4th and once in the 7th to hand the ‘Dogs their worst loss of the year.
Ibarra also had a double in that 1st inning, while Tyler Moore went 2-for-3 in the game. Teodoro Martinez had a hit, Ivan Marin also singled and Forrestt Allday walked and scored the game’s first run.
Ricky Knapp had Lincoln’s shortest start of 2019 – yielding 11 runs – five earned – on 11 hits over two-plus innings. Austin Pettibone allowed three unearned runs over one inning in relief, and Josh Norwood tossed four relief frames before Ibarra came on in the 8th.
The ‘Dogs have lost six consecutive games and nine straight on the road, and have two more games remaining on this season-long eight-game roadtrip.
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., and pregame coverage will begin at 6:35 p.m. on ESPN Lincoln 101.5 FM/1480 AM.
The Saltdogs are playing their 19th season in Lincoln. All ticket and promo information can be found at saltdogs.com, and follow the ‘Dogs on Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball.