Chihuahuas win on road tightens race for playoffs
For the second straight game, the El Paso Chihuahuas fell behind early and came back to win, defeating the Nashville Sounds 4-3 Sunday night. Robbie Erlin allowed only one earned run in 6.1 innings, his longest start of the season.
The Sounds hit four singles and took advantage of an El Paso error in the bottom of the first to go ahead 3-0. The Chihuahuas got within one in the top of the third when they scored twice on Alex Dickerson’s RBI fielder’s choice and Will Middlebrooks’ RBI single.
El Paso tied the game on a bizarre inside-the-park home run by Dickerson in the fifth, who hit a ground ball down the left field line and into the corner. Nashville left fielder Jake Smolinski appeared to think the ball was dead, but it was live and Dickerson rounded the bases. It was Dickerson’s first inside-the-park home run since April 7, 2013 for Double-A Altoona and the second inside-the-park home run in Chihuahuas’ history, with the first coming from Rico Noel on August 10, 2014 in Salt Lake.
Hector Gomez hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to bring home the eventual game-winning run. El Paso hitters compiled nine walks against Nashville pitching. The Sounds have used 11 pitchers in the first two games of the series. Nine of El Paso’s last 13 games have been decided by one run.
