SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Troy Alexander and Zane Gurwitz went deep, but the Sioux Falls Canaries (19-27) fell to the Chicago Dogs (29-18) by a final score of 5-3 in the series opener at The Birdcage Friday.
The Dogs raced out to a 5-0 lead with three runs in the first and two runs in the second, but the Birds rallied to cut the deficit to two courtesy of blasts from Alexander in the second and Gurwitz in the fourth. The home run by Alexander was his third of the season. The longball by Gurwitz was his fifth.
Angel Ventura (3-5) settled down after a rocky opening to keep the Canaries in the game. He did not allow a run from the third through the sixth as the Birds battled back. He set aside 11 in a row at one point. Ventura pitched six innings, allowing eight hits and five runs (five earned) in the loss. Jordan Kipper (4-2) was credited with the win for the Dogs. Kipper pitched eight innings and scattered seven hits. He limited the damage to three runs (three earned).
Gurwitz finished the evening with three hits and was just a triple shy of the cycle. Alexander notched two hits.
Wyatt Ulrich also recorded two hits and scored in the loss. Ulrich extended his hit streak to 28 straight games and his on-base streak to 32 straight games. The all-time hit streak record in the American Association is 34 straight games, a mark set by Stephen Douglas of El Paso and Grand Prairie in 2011. Ulrich now has 16 multi-hit games during his hitting streak, which started June 5th against Houston.
Saturday’s matchup will feature LHP Jake Dahlberg (4-2, 2.49 ERA) on the mound for the Dogs. The Canaries starter is TBA. A live stream of the game will be available via Fox Sports 98.1 FM and American Association Baseball TV.
Saturday night is Military Appreciation night at The Birdcage! One of our best-attended and charged-up nights every season comes with a free ticket to every veteran and anyone currently serving in the military! It’s our way of saying “thanks for your service.”
For more information on the Canaries, follow the team on Twitter @canaries. To purchase tickets and for all other team information, visit sfcanaries.com. Media contact: joey@sfcanaries.com.
