Winnipeg Goldeyes: July 31, 2011 Highlights

The St. Paul Saints scored a pair of runs with two out in the 11th inning and now have a share of first place in the American Association's North Division.

An RBI single by Argelis Nunez followed by an error on third baseman Brian Myrow gave the Saints two runs in the 11th and a 6-4 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes in front of 5,476 spectators on a beautiful day for baseball in downtown Winnipeg.

With the win, St. Paul won the three-game weekend series in Winnipeg 2-1 and moved into a first-place tie with the Goldeyes. Both teams have identical records of 43-30. The Goldeyes have lost two in a row and are now 3-7 in their last 10.

Ace Walker started for the Goldeyes and was looking to become the team's all-time leader in wins with 37. Meanwhile, Rick Forney was trying to win his 300th game as the Goldeyes manager.

After the game, Walker, who went 5.2 innings, allowing only one run on five hits, was devastated by the outcome.

"It started off good for 3.1 innings, but they (the Saints) complained on almost every pitch," Walker said. "At that point it seemed like the (strike) zone changed. I guess if you complain enough he'll (home plate umpire Kurt Branin) change his strike zone.

"I mean, just look at the numbers. How many guys do I walk a game? Zero to one? Today, I had three walks and I didn't walk a guy until the fifth inning. I don't know. Personally, I thought the strike zone changed."

Walker had allowed only two walks in his previous five starts, but today he had three, all after the fourth inning.

It looked like it was going to be a big day for Winnipeg as the Goldeyes scored four times in the first inning.

Price Kendall led off with a single, Kody Kaiser followed with a single and both base runners move up 90 feet as Kendall stole third and Kaiser went to second on a wild pitch. Wes Long hit a sacrifice fly to score Kendall, Brian Myrow singled to score Kaiser and Luis Alen hit a two-run homer, his second of the year, to give the Goldeyes a 4-0 lead.

But that was it. St. Paul got a run in the fifth and then tied it on a three-run homer in the seventh by Ole Sheldon off reliever Aaron Hartsock. It was the first home run Hartsock has given up this season.

St. Paul reliever Caleb Thielbar (2-3, 2.72 ERA) got the win while Goldeyes reliever Chad Benefield (1-2, 3.58) suffered the loss.

Forney will have to wait at least one more day to record his 300th victory as the Goldeyes manager, while Walker will have to wait until at least his next start to become the Goldeyes all-time leader in wins.

Monday night, the Goldeyes begin a three-game series with the Gary Southshore RailCats. Game time is 7 p.m. and can be heard live with Paul Edmonds on Sports Radio 1290 and can be seen live with Scott Taylor, Ken Wiebe and Jim Toth on Shaw TV.

Great seats for all Goldeyes games are available by visiting any Ticketmaster location, clicking on Ticketmaster.ca or by calling 1-855-GOLDEYE.

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• Winnipeg Goldeyes
• Saint Paul Saints
• St. Paul Saints
• American Association
• Minor League Baseball
• Shaw Park
• Independent Baseball
• Winnipeg
• Manitoba
• Canada