LINCOLN — Richard Salazar carved his way through eight innings as the Sioux City Explorers (14-17) beat the Saltdogs (18-14) 7-1 in front of 2,561 fans at Haymarket Park Tuesday night.
Salazar (3-0) went eight, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out a season-high 10 to earn the victory. Pete Parise (3-3) pitched well for Lincoln, going eight innings while allowing just two earned, but took the loss.
Sioux City scored runs in two of the first three innings and never trailed, pulling away with a four-run top of the ninth.
The Saltdogs scored their run in the bottom of the sixth on a Matt Forgatch RBI triple off the wall in center. Forgatch finished 2-for-4 with a triple, RBI and a stolen base.
Lincoln committed three errors in the game, matching a season-high. The Saltdogs' quest for a season-high four-game win streak came up short as the X's evened the three-game series at one game a piece.
Yasel Gomez and Tyler Goodro collected the other two hits the for the 'Dogs as they lost for just the third time in their last 10 games.
The clubs play the rubber game Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. Mike Burns (1-1, 6.94) will square off against Jason Jarvis (4-2, 3.54). Radio coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. on KFOR 1240.
Come out to Haymarket Wednesday night for a U.S. Bank Five Star Service Guaranteed Win Wednesday! If the 'Dogs don't win, your ticket would be good to another Wednesday game this summer!