Milkmen fall to Canaries in Game Four, 5-3

With a 3-0 lead in the Championship Series, the Milwaukee Milkmen sent Tim Dillard to the mound on Wednesday night to try and close things out against the Sioux Falls Canaries at The Birdcage. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, their opponent remembered that they were the best offensive team in the American Association before this contest.

The Canaries got on the board in the first inning after an Andrew Ely double and Clint Coulter single made it 1-0. They added another two runs in the second as Alay Lago singled to lead off, then scored on a double by Jabari Henry. He later moved up to third on a grounder by Roy Morales and scored on a ball in play from Mike Hart.

Milwaukee loaded the bases in the top of the third with no outs, but failed to score when David Washington popped up on the infield and Mason Davis grounded into a double play. The Canaries forced Dillard out of the game in the bottom half, adding two additional runs on a Jabari Henry homer and an RBI double from Hart. Dillard lasted only 3.2 innings in this one, allowing five earned runs.

The Milkmen bullpen kept the Canaries at five runs for the rest of the ballgame. Zach Hartman tossed two scoreless frames, Karch Kowalczyk worked 1.1 innings, and Dylan Baker put up a zero in his one frame. Milwaukee's offense could never get a rally going, however, at least until the ninth. Against closer Keaton Steele, Zach Nehrir drew a one-out walk, which was followed by a free pass to Christian Correa. After a punchout from Logan Trowbridge, Brett Vertigan put a charge into one for a three-run homer over the left field fence. That made the score 5-3, but that is where this game would end.

Milwaukee still leads the series three games to one and will have another chance to clinch on the road in Sioux Falls on Thursday. Ace David Holmberg will be making the start in game five, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Box Score

You can watch the Milkmen go for the clinch on Thursday night by subscribing to AA Baseball TV.