Bonus power wins Game 1

By Sean Rooney on August 7, 2018.

srooney@medicinehatnews.com @MHNRooney

David Salgueiro might be known for his feet, but the Medicine Hat Mavericks centre-fielder is doing damage with his bat in these playoffs too.

Salgueiro swung, flipped his bat about seven feet in the air and watched his two-run home run sail over the fence in the fourth inning of Monday’s Western Major Baseball League game against the Edmonton Prospects.

It was the definitive blow in a 10-4 win before 1,225 fans at Athletic Park to kick off the best-of-five semifinal series in which teams traded questions and answers, but the visitors couldn’t match Salgueiro’s big swing.

“I’ve never hit a curveball like that in my life,” said Salgueiro, who tied for the most stolen bases (30) in the regular season and now has two long balls in the playoffs —twice as many as he had the rest of the summer. “It felt really good. Just being a speed guy, you’re just trying to put a good swing on the ball.”

On a team blessed with offensive talent, Salgueiro is labelled as the guy scoring runs, not driving them in. To do both is a dangerous problem for opposing pitchers.

Medicine Hat ripped 15 hits on the night, but the Prospects made the most of their chances early. Daylen Calicdan’s two-out single off Mavs pitcher Alex Dafoe in the third tied the score at 3-3, the last of four straight half-innings with runs on the board.

After Edmonton stranded two runners in scoring position to lead off the fourth, Jaxson Hooge reached on an error and greeted Salgueiro at home plate after his rip off Prospects left-hander Taran Oulton.

The teams traded a couple more runs after that but Medicine Hat’s bullpen and defence — its weaknesses in losing last year’s series between the teams — was stellar.

“They’re a good team, they play hard,” said Prospects head coach Ray Brown. “They swing the bat a whole lot better this year than last year… this is a better team than last year’s team.”

Shortstop Carson Johnson made a diving grab to rob Zane Takhar in the seventh, Barry Caine threw two scoreless innings and Sean Cruz one, then closer Tyler Shumpert started a 1-6-3 double play to wrap up the ninth.

Colton Wright added his second RBI single and Sal Rodriguez got his third RBI as part of a 3-run eighth which erased any thought of a comeback. Both players went 3-for-5.

“At 7-4, we have a chance,” said Brown. “We give them three more, all of a sudden the game gets out of hand.”

Oulton took the loss, giving up nine hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Dafoe went five innings, giving up four runs on five hits for the win.

Matt Brooks will get the start in Game 2 Tuesday for the home team against Edmonton’s Edgar Barclay.

“A win’s a win,” said Johnson, who had an RBI triple in the second. “If we keep playing like this I don’t think anybody beats us.”

In the WMBL’s Eastern Division finals, Weyburn beat Regina 5-2 on home field to take a 1-0 series lead. The Beavers scored three times in the first inning and Ryan Johnson went 6 1/3 innings for the win, striking out seven. Tyler Scott’s 2-RBI double in the eighth padded the lead for closer Eric Evans, who fanned two Red Sox in the ninth for the save.

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