(7\/14\/06) The temperatures reached the mid-90s in Mankato on Friday, but it was the MoonDogs’ bats that were the hottest of all.<\/p>\n
The MoonDogs slugged two home runs in a four-run first inning, and chased Brainerd starter Chase Bayuk from the game with another two runs in the second inning, en route to a 7-1 win over the Blue Thunder.<\/p>\n
Shane Buschini’s two-run shot in the first was his 11th as a MoonDog, setting a new franchise record. It followed a Tim Smith infield single and stolen base to give the ‘Dogs a 2-0 lead. After a Robert Rodebaugh single, Ryan Addison homered to left-center and, in one inning, the MoonDogs had equaled their biggest run output of the season at Franklin Rogers Park. They scored four runs in a victory over the Alexandria Beetles on July 7.<\/p>\n
Mankato tacked on another two runs in the second, and again it was the combination of Rodebaugh and Addison. Michael Parker, returning to the lineup after a three week absence due to a broken thumb, led off with a walk and moved to second on a Smith single. With two outs, Rodebaugh singled to center to score Parker, and Addison followed with a base hit into left to plate Smith.<\/p>\n
Given a six-run lead, MoonDogs starter Steve Salas settled into a groove and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. Salas (3-4) finished with seven innings of two-hit ball, giving up just one unearned run while striking out five. Fabian Gomez and Tom Porter each contributed a scoreless inning of relief. Brainerd, meanwhile, used seven pitchers on the night, with none going longer than Bayuk (2-3).<\/p>\n
Addison went 3-for-3, finishing a triple short of the cycle, and drive in four runs. Smith went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and stole his team-leading 10th base, while Rodebaugh also went 2-for-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(7\/14\/06) The temperatures reached the mid-90s in Mankato on Friday, but it was the MoonDogs’ bats that were the hottest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\n