LINCOLN, NE – The Lincoln Saltdogs hit into a franchise-record five double plays and lost to the Sioux City Explorers 6-0 at Haymarket Park on Friday night.
The Saltdogs (0-2) topped the previous franchise high of four double plays, which had happened nine times before and most recently in 2015. The team hit into four different types of double plays, using the 6-4-3 turn twice.
Tyler Herron was charged with the loss for Lincoln but started the game brilliantly. The right-hander retired the first eight Explorers (2-0) he faced but ran into trouble in the fifth inning. He walked the first batter then surrendered three straight singles that pushed in two runs. Next, Luis Durango knocked home another with a fielder’s choice grounder and Michael Lang piled on with an RBI single. Jay Austin made it 5-0 with another base hit. The defense didn’t help Herron, making two errors in the frame.
Sioux City continued to see Herron well in the sixth. Nelson Ward hit a solo homer to right-center field to begin the inning. Two batters later, Dexture McCall notched a hit and Herron’s day was done.
The Saltdogs’ bullpen was a bright spot, though. Jose Jose, Eric Wooten, Kyle Kinman and Dimitri Kourtis combined to toss 3.2 scoreless innings.
Lincoln’s bats were held to just six hits one night after they mustered only seven. Curt Smith was the only Saltdogs batter to compile a multi-hit game.
The Saltdogs try for their first win of the season on Saturday night against Sioux City. Austin Robichaux gets the start for the ‘Dogs with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.
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.