Goldeyes’ slim playoff hopes fade with loss to Saltdogs

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This article was published 08/08/2025 (420 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes (32-46) have suffered back-to-back heartbreaking losses, falling 9-6 to the Lincoln Saltdogs after a three-run ninth-inning effort by the visitors broke a 6-6 tie to take Game 1 of the series at Blue Cross Park in front of 5580 fans.

The Goldeyes were looking prove themselves following a brutal 11th-inning loss in Sioux City on Thursday, when the Goldeyes could not find a way to back up an incredible pitching performance by starter James Bradwell with the batting to match.

To try and help with the need for offence, a few hours before Friday’s game, the Goldeyes announced the signing of catcher Rob Emery for the remainder of the 2025 season.

In the Goldeyes’ 2024 West Division-winning season, Emery played 83 games, putting up 11 home runs, 70 RBI and a .293 batting average.

However Emery, who spent the first chunk of the 2025 season in the Mexican League, might need some time readjusting, with no hits, runs or RBI with five at bats.

Earlier in the week, the Goldeyes got back another piece that made their 2024 season so strong on the pitching side, with starter Landen Bourassa rejoining the lineup on Wednesday after being out for over a month with pneumonia.

Bourassa threw three scoreless innings against the Canaries, allowing two hits, one walk, and striking out two. It was the first time he had played since June 28.

Righthanded pitcher Luke Boyd got the start for the Fish on Friday, allowing four runs, eight hits and striking out one in six innings pitched.

The Saltdogs got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning and extending it to 4-0 in the second with the help of a two-run home run by Danny Bautista Jr.

The Goldeyes had an opportunity to get back in the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second and one out, but only pushed one run across after Jacob Robson was walked.

In the fourth, a Robson single brought in Ray-Patrick Didder to cut the Saltdogs’ lead in half, before a three-run sixth inning from the Goldeyes put them on top for the first time in the game.

The Saltdogs regained a 6-5 lead in the eighth, and despite a tying run by Didder in the same inning, it was not enough as the three-run ninth inning for the SaltDogs sealed the deal.

The Goldeyes, who are 5-6 in their last ten, need a near-perfect record the rest of the season if they want any chance at a playoff spot, finding themselves still 11.5 games back of the Canaries, who have a solid grip on fourth place in the West Division.

Game two of the series goes today at 6 p.m. After Lincoln, the Goldeyes will continue the six game homestand against the Cleburne Railroaders (37-41) on Tuesday.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca