Seven shutout innings from Braulio Torres-Perez and a four-run fifth inning led Gary to a 5-1 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the rubber game of the series on Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s win was Gary’s fifth in their last six contests and was the RailCats second consecutive series victory.
Torres-Perez (4-0) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and retired 14 of the first 15 he faced in his second consecutive win. The southpaw allowed three hits and three walks and struck out a season-high six batters.
Gary (20-17) scored first for the fifth consecutive game with a run in the second. Randy Santiesteban extended his personal-best hitting streak to five with a triple down into the right field corner to start the inning. Wilfredo Gimenez then made it 1-0 with an RBI groundout, scoring Santiesteban from third.
The RailCats pushed their lead to five with a four-run top of the fifth. Kris Goodman brought home the first run of the inning with an RBI single to center. Anthony Cheky Jr. doubled Gary’s lead to four with an RBI double to right-center, scoring Goodman, however, a fielding error by center fielder Kes Carter also allowed Chase Harris to score all the way from first. Two batters later, Frank Martinez pulled an RBI single through the right side, bringing in Cheky Jr. for the final RailCats run of the afternoon.
Fargo-Moorhead (18-19) scored their only run of the game in eighth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Mitch Delfino grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, bringing home Yhoxian Medina for the RedHawks only run of the game.
Carlos Diaz secured the win with a scoreless bottom of the ninth. Diaz walked a batter before striking out the last two batters he faced. Cheky Jr. finished with a game-high two hits and Colin Willis extended his personal-best on-base streak to 13 after getting hit in the leg in the top of the seventh.
Tyler Herron (1-1) was tagged with the loss in his second start of the year. Herron allowed five runs on six hits and two walks over five innings.
Gary continues their nine-game, 10-day road trip on Tuesday in Canada against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. 2016 All-Star Charle Rosario (3-3, 2.89) gets the ball for the RailCats against the defending America Association champions. First pitch in the series opener is at 7:00 p.m. from Shaw Park.
Gary returns home to U.S. Steel Yard on Monday, July 3rd for the start of a seven-game homestand. Monday’s game vs. Fargo-Moorhead is at 7:10 p.m. and is another MetroPCS Monday. Monday’s series opener against the RedHawks is also the inaugural Fourth of Juluau Pig Roast, presented by Berey Bros., and features Fireworks and Barefoot Hawaiian Fire Dancers.
Jared Shlensky and Austin Anderson bring you all 100 RailCats games this season on WEFM (95.9FM) and online at railcatsbaseball.com. Fans can purchase tickets for RailCats home games by calling (219) 882-BALL or online at railcatsbaseball.com. The RailCats box office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.