Franklin, Wisconsin- Yordys Valdes and Edrick Felix homered and the Milwaukee Milkmen defeated the Lincoln Saltdogs 5-4, Monday night at Franklin Field.  Ryan Boyer earned his twelfth save of the season for the American Association East Division leaders.  Jake Hjelle hit a home run, in his fourth straight game, for the Saltdogs, in the loss.

Milwaukee (52-35) scored five runs, off ten hits, committed no errors, and left six runners on base.  Lincoln (38-49) had four runs, with ten hits, one error, and left eight runners aboard.  Monday night’s game lasted two hours and fourteen minutes and was played in front of 956 fans.

Lincoln started the scoring in the top of the first.  Facing Milwaukee starter Juan Diaz, Nick Shumpert doubled to the base of the right field wall, to begin the game.  Two batters later, Jairo Pomares singled, scoring Shumpert, to make it 1-0.

The Milkmen grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third.  Facing Lincoln starter Cam Dayton, Charlie Marion led off with a single.  Then, Yordys Valdes hit a two-run home run to left field, to make it a 2-1 Milwaukee lead.

The Saltdogs tied the score in the top of the fourth.  With two outs, Calyn Halvorson singled.  Then, Griffin Everitt walked.  The next batter, Samuel Benjamin recorded his first hit as a Saltdog by doubling to the left field wall, scoring Halvorson, and tying the score at 2-2.

Milwaukee recaptured the lead with its biggest inning of the game.  In the bottom of the fourth, Griffin Doersching hit a one-out double to the left field wall.  Then, Edrick Felix hit a two-run home run to left field, to make it a 4-2 Milwaukee lead.  Then, Carlos Linarez singled.  The next batter, Charlie Marion, reached on a single.  Two batters later, Delvin Perez singled, scoring Linarez, to make it 5-2.

Lincoln cut into the Milkmen lead in the top of the fifth.  With one out, Jairo Pomares singled.  Then, Jake Hjelle hit a two-run home run to left field.  His fifteenth home run of the year made the score 5-4, however, that would be the end of the scoring in the game.

Milkmen starting pitcher Juan Diaz (8-5) earned the win, pitching 5.0 innings, giving up four runs, off nine hits, struck out six and walked two.  Hunter Bryan pitched 1.0 inning and struck out one.  Justin Kelly worked 1.0 inning, yielding one hit and struck out one.  Brady Puckett pitched 1.0 inning and struck out one.  Ryan Boyer pitched a clean ninth inning for his twelfth save of the season.

Saltdogs’ starter Cam Dayton (3-2) took the loss, pitching 7.0 innings, giving up five runs, off ten hits, struck out seven and walked one.  Gabriel Jaramillo pitched 1.0 inning and struck out one.

Offensively for Milwaukee, Yordys Valdes was 1-for-4 with a two-run home run.  Delvin Perez was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Griffin Doersching was 2-for-3.  Edrick Felix went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run.  Charlie Marion was 3-for-3.

For Lincoln, Jairo Pomares was 3-for-5 with an RBI.  Jake Hjelle homered in his fourth consecutive game and finished 1-for-4 with a two-run home run.  Calyn Halvorson was 2-for-4.  Samuel Benjamin was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Game two of the four-game series is Tuesday night.  RHP Cael Chatham (3-3, 7.38 ERA) will pitch for Lincoln.  LHP Cody Templeton (3-2, 4.80 ERA) will be on the mound for Milwaukee. The first pitch will be 6:30 p.m.  The game will be broadcast on KFOR 101.5 FM/1240 AM and on: www.aabaseball.tv.

The Saltdogs will return home for their final homestand of the regular season, beginning Friday night, versus the Kansas City Monarchs, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.  Friday night’s game is FREE T-SHIRT FRIDAY! sponsored by Abante Marketing. Plus, a T-Shirt Giveaway sponsored by Sandhills Global. Also, there will be Post-Game Fireworks sponsored by Sandhills Global.  For tickets, merchandise and more information visit: www.saltdogs.com.