LINCOLN, Nebraska – Tyler Anderson tossed three runs in relief and didn’t allow an earned run, and the ‘Dogs rallied late with five 8th-inning runs to beat the Kansas City T-Bones 6-3 in the series opener on Friday night at Haymarket Park.
Anderson went 1-2-3 in the 8th, and the each of the first six ‘Dogs reached in the bottom-half of the inning. Christian Ibarra singled before both Forrestt Allday and Cody Regis walked to load the bases with nobody out.
Curt Smith came up, and after he was hit by a pitch to drive in a run, Josh Mazzola tied the game with a single and Randolph Oduber drove in the go-ahead run with an infield hit.
The ‘Dogs scored twice more later in the inning – once on Nick Schulz’s sacrifice fly and again when Ivan Marin reached on a two-out error – and the ‘Dogs won for the second time when trailing after seven innings this year.
‘Dogs starter Brad Thoutt went 4.1 innings and allowed one earned run on four hits with five walks and six strikeouts, while Austin Pettibone tossed 1.2 scoreless in relief.
Smith singled in the 1st inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games – now tied for his longest and Lincoln’s longest this year. Christian Ibarra’s 9th-inning single kept his season-best eight-game hitting streak alive.
Evan Korson – who was traded to Kansas City in exchange for OF Forrestt Allday – allowed all three batters he faced to reach in the 8th and took his first American Association loss in the first appearance against his former club.
The ‘Dogs have won consecutive games and Game 2 of the three-game series is scheduled for Saturday. First-pitch time is set for 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.