Another Adam Walker home run powers Milkmen to 3-1 victory in Chicago

After finishing up a three-game series at Franklin Field last night, the Milwaukee Milkmen and Chicago Dogs headed to Impact Field to begin a three-game series south of the border. Tonight's tilt featured Tim Dillard for the Milkmen against lefty Thomas Dominy of the Dogs, and like many of Milwaukee's games this season, dominant pitching was once again the story.

The affable Dillard has been nothing short of outstanding since joining the rotation for Milwaukee on August 16th, and he kept that trend going by blanking the Dogs into the sixth inning of this contest. Those zeroes didn't come without some bearing down and grinding through some adversity, however.

The first batter of the game, Michael Crouse, reached on an error by shortstop Mason Davis. He was quickly erased on a groundball double play. Dillard then stranded a runner on third base in both the second and third innings, and left another two men on base in the fourth. Dilly worked around a walk to post a clean fifth, then issued a pair of free passes to begin the sixth and retired a batter before getting relieved in favor of Anthony Bender. In all, Dillard posted 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out a pair.

Tim didn't need much support while stifling the Dogs' offense, and it came relatively early in this game. In the third inning, Logan Trowbridge led off with a walk against Dorminy and moved to second when Brett Vertigan also earned a base on balls. A perfectly executed double steal moved the runners up to second and third, and when David Washington grounded out to the first baseman, Trowbridge was able to scamper in and score to make it 1-0.

And what would a Milkmen game be lately without some fireworks from hometown slugger Adam Brett Walker? In the fifth inning, Trowbridge once again got things started by doubling to left field. A bunt by Vertigan moved him up to third base, but Logan was unable to score on a groundout by Washington. Fortunately, Walker stepped up to the plate with two outs and absolutely demolished the first pitch of the at-bat over the fence in left. The long dinger was Walker's 18th of the year, and the two RBI he collected give him 43 for the season. Both of those totals lead the American Association. Walker has now gone deep in four straight games, and he has eight home runs in his last 11 games played.

Manager Anthony Barone turned things over to his tremendous bullpen with a 3-0 lead, with the aforementioned Bender recording the final two outs of the sixth inning to strand Dillard's runners before coming back out and pitching a scoreless seventh. AJ Schugel came on for the eighth and got nicked up for the first time in the month of August, allowing a solo homer to KC Hobson that made it 3-1. 

Peyton Gray entered for the ninth, and while he's typically been automatic this season, he worked himself into a jam tonight. Tyler Ladendorf led off the inning with a single, and then a walk to Blake Allemand brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Edwin Arroyo sacrifice bunted the runners up to second and third, but then Gray punched out Crouse and induced a groundout to the newly-signed Kelly Dugan to end the night and lock down his 11th save.

The 3-1 victory means that the Milkmen will once again wake up atop the American Association standings tomorrow, 2.5 games ahead of Sioux Falls and 3.0 games up on Winnipeg and St. Paul. Milwaukee (28-21) will face Chicago (21-27) for game two of the series on Saturday evening, with first pitch set for 7:05 PM.

For a complete game recap, click here.
For game highlights and more, click here.

The Milkmen are out of town, but you can still catch the games on AA Baseball TV by clicking here. A full season subscription can be purchased for $19.99.

The Milkmen are on the road for a six-game trip before returning back to Franklin Field to meet the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks on September 4th, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM. For tickets and more information visit MilwaukeeMilkmen.com.