CLEBURNE, Texas – Teodoro Martinez had two hits, an RBI and a run scored, but the ‘Dogs were swept for the first time in 2019 following a 7-4 loss to the Cleburne Railroaders at The Depot on Thursday night.
Martinez now has hits in each of his first six games with Lincoln, and drove in the Saltdogs’ first run in the 5th with a two-out, run-scoring single.
Cleburne jumped out to an early lead in the 3rd when Grant Buck hit an RBI single and Jon Nester clubbed a three-run homer.
Lincoln cut into the lead further in the 6th after Randolph Oduber hit a solo homer to extend his hitting streak to six. Later, Tyler Moore added a single, reached second on a balk and scored on John Sansone’s RBI single.
Cleburne got two runs back in the bottom-half when K.C. Huth capped a rally of four consecutive singles with a two-RBI base hit. Lincoln got a run back on a wild pitch in the 7th, but a solo homer in the bottom of the 7th extended Cleburne’s lead back to three.
Ricky Knapp tossed six innings and gave up six runs on 10 hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Cameron McVey gave up the solo homer in the 7th before Evan Korson went 1-2-3 in the 8th – lowering his ERA down to an even 1.00.
Tyler Moore had a pair of hits and Curt Smith had his team-best 17th multi-hit game, but Cody Regis’s seven-game hitting streak came to an end.
The ‘Dogs now head back home overnight before opening a three-game series at home against the Sioux City Explorers on Friday night. First pitch time on Friday 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.