WINNIPEG, Man. — Eddie McKiernan was terrific on the mound once more as the Saltdogs (21-15) beat the Winnipeg Goldeyes (18-17) 4-1 in front of 5,834 fans at Shaw Park Saturday night.
McKiernan (6-1) tossed seven strong innings, allowing one run on three hits to earn the victory. The 24-year old righty had allowed just one hit through six innings.
Lincoln tallied two runs in the second inning on consecutive RBI walks drawn by Brad Payne and Daniel Carroll. They would add runs in the third on a Tyler Goodro RBI single and in the fifth on a Mike Provencher double.
R.J. Rodriguez worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 14th save of the season.
Brian Embery went 3-for-5 with a run, posting his first professional multi-hit game, picking up hits from both sides of the plate.
Mark Hardy (4-2) allowed four runs – three earned – on five hits in five innings, while walking six to suffer the loss.
Provencher finished 2-for-4 with a RBI. P.J. Zocchi threw a hitless eighth inning to preserve the lead.
The Saltdogs stranded a season-high 12 runners on base.
The clubs meet again on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for the series finale. Pete Parise (3-3, 3.43) will toe the slab for the Saltdogs. Radio coverage begins at 1:05 p.m. on KFOR 1240.