Henderson Alvarez dominates as Milkmen shutout Saints in Game One

The Milwaukee Milkmen continued their road trip by heading to St. Paul on Tuesday, kicking off a three-game series against the Saints at CHS Field. Henderson Alvarez toed the slab for the Milkmen opposing Mike Devine of St. Paul, and this one was a tightly contested pitcher's duel all night long.

The only damage that Milwaukee's lineup could muster against Devine came early on in this ballgame. Mason Davis was hit by a pitch with one out in the bottom of the second inning, then Zach Nehrir followed by reaching on an error by St. Paul third baseman Chesny Young. Christian Correa then grounded a ball just out of the reach of the second baseman for a single that scored the speedy Davis. The run was unearned but still counted on the scoreboard, giving the Milkmen a 1-0 lead.

That would be all the cushion that former MLB All-Star Henderson Alvarez would need in this game. Max Murphy hit a two-out single in the bottom of the first inning and Chris Chinea had a leadoff base hit in the second, but they wound up being the only Saints' batters that reached base against Alvarez. The right-hander set St. Paul down in order in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, retiring the final 21 men that he faced in a row. Henderson punched out five batters and got some help from his defense as well, including a diving catch by center fielder Brett Vertigan in the fourth inning.

The veteran Devine went 8.1 innings and struck out 13 batters against one walk while piling up a whopping 138 pitches, but he was outdueled both in results and efficiency by Alvarez, who completed his eight shutout frames on 94 pitches (66 strikes). Peyton Gray came in to shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, but he quickly put the tying run on base when he walked Drew Stankiewicz to lead off. When Stankiewicz ran on an 0-1 pitch to the next batter Mikey Reynolds, however, Correa came up throwing from behind the plate and erased him with a caught stealing for the first out. Reynolds wound up whiffing for out number two, then Chuck Taylor punched out to end the ballgame. Gray earned his 13th save of the year in the 1-0 Milkmen victory.

With this triumph, Milwaukee becomes the first team in the American Association to reach 30 wins this season. The club's record stands at 30-22 and the Milkmen will begin play on Wednesday in first place by 2.5 games over the Sioux Falls Canaries. The Milkmen and Saints (25-27) will face off again for game two on Wednesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.

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The Milkmen are out of town, but you can still catch the games on AA Baseball TV by clicking here. A full season subscription can be purchased for $19.99.

The Milkmen are on the road for a six-game trip before returning back to Franklin Field to meet the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks on September 4th, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM. For tickets and more information visit MilwaukeeMilkmen.com.