WICHITA, Kan. — In a battle of former big league hurlers, Wichita's Chris Smith outgunned Mike Burns as the Wingnuts (42-20) downed the Saltdogs (34-28) 4-1 in front of 2,261 fans at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Smith (7-3) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits while walking one and fanning a season-high 12. Burns (4-4) pitched seven innings, surrendering four rns on seven hits to suffer the loss. Josh Dew pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 14th save.
Wichita opened the game with four straight singles to jump ahead 2-0. Burns then settled down in to a groove, retiring the next 12 men he faced and 19 of the next 21.
The lone Saltdogs run came in the fifth inning as Yasel Gomez led off the frame with a home run, his third.
Lincoln struck out 15 times, a season-high.
The Saltdogs are off Monday, and open a three-game series with Trois Rivieres Aigles of the Can-Am League at 7:05 p.m. Radio coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. on KFOR 1240.