MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- With the way the Moose Jaw Miller Express have been swinging the bats through the first couple weeks of the Western Canadian Major Baseball League season, it stood to reason that it was going to take a pretty special pitching performance to shut them down.
On Friday night in Swift Current, Kenny Jinks had that performance.
The second-year veteran out of Wheeling University put together one of the top showings on the mound against Moose Jaw in recent history, leading the 57’s to a 5-1 victory at Mitchell Field.
Moose Jaw is now 6-6 on the campaign and sit in third place in the East Division, two games back of the Regina Red Sox and Medicine Hat Mavericks.
Jinks faced just four batters over the minimum through his eight innings of work, scattering three hits and striking out 18 against only one walk. By the time he left the game, the 57’s had their four-run lead, and Jaylen Gutierrez would strike out the side in the ninth to secure the victory -- giving the two Swift Current pitchers 21 strikeouts on the night.
The three hits for Moose Jaw came off the bats of Bobby Pokorney, Owen Robbins and Evan Deringer, with their lone run coming in the sixth inning. Austin Gurney knocked home Deringer on a fielder’s choice, the only inning Jinks got into any kind of trouble.
Thing is, Miller Express pitcher Cameron Dunn was doing a solid job in his own right, allowing only two runs on five hits in five innings of work. Nathan Yunick allowed a run in the sixth before giving way to Jadon Canelli, who for only the second time this season saw opponents score against him, giving up a pair in 1 ⅔. Declan O’Hare finished things off with a scoreless eighth.
Jeremiah Sanchez crossed the plate twice for Swift Current while going 2-for-4, while Kai Gray was 1-for-2 and knocked in a pair and Cullen Verville went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
The two teams are right back at it on Saturday night when the 57’s are at Ross Wells Park in Moose Jaw. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
