LINCOLN, Neb— The Sioux City Explorers (39-22) wasted no time setting the tone in the second game of their series with the Lincoln Saltdogs (25-36), delivering an all-around performance that kept the home crowd quiet. With timely swings and shutdown pitching, Sioux City cruised to a 5-0 win and widened its divisional lead.
The Explorers didn’t score until the sixth inning last night, but in the middle game of this series, it took them only two batters. Austin Davis blooped a single into left field, and Henry George battled starter Johnny Blake (3-3), running the count full.
The All-Star crushed Blake’s payoff pitch over the wall in right center field for a two-run home run. Sioux City snagged its first lead of the series on George’s fourth longball of the season.
Davis knocked in a run of his own on a two-out double in the second, and that’s all the offense the X’s needed. The Venezuelan righty Angel Macuare (2-0) sawed through the Lincoln lineup, scattering seven hits over seven innings, striking out five. He did not issue a walk and stranded seven runners.
Sioux City tacked on a run in the seventh and carried the 4-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth when Chase Jessee took over. The lefty allowed the first two batters to reach before striking out Spencer Henson before Drew DeVine grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Closer Felix Cepeda replaced Jessee in the ninth and sent Lincoln back to the doghouse. The righty finished his 24th games of the season as Sioux City took a two-game lead in the West Division with Kansas City’s 4-2 loss to Fargo-Moorhead.
The Explorers concude the three-game set with Lincoln on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Sioux City returns home to play the Sioux Falls Canaries for a three-game weekend set before the All-Star break. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10-, 15-, and 25-game Flex Packs. For more information, please call the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers’ social media channels and the club’s website, xsbaseball.com, for all our news and updates.