Winnipeg Goldeyes starting pitcher Joey Matulovich has been money pretty much every time he takes this mound this season.
Plot twist: It was the Sioux Falls Canaries who cashed in Wednesday night, sending the ace to an early shower en route to an easy, breezy 5-0 victory in the opening game of their best-of-three playoff series.
Just like that, a promising Goldeyes season is quickly on the brink as Winnipeg faces elimination on Friday night at Blue Cross Park (7 p.m.). A win would force a decisive Game 3 on Saturday at the downtown field (6 p.m.).
Matulovich was the undisputed top pitcher in the American Association during the regular season, compiling an 11-3 record with a sizzling 2.11 ERA and 145 strikeouts. Playoffs can be a different animal, and the 27-year-old from California did not look like himself in this one.
Consider this rather ugly start to the game, just after the Goldeyes had gone one-two-three in the top of the first inning: Single. Single. Walk. Walk. Just like that, the visitors were in an early hole. A sacrifice fly doubled the deficit, which could have been much worse if not for a stellar inning-ending catch from outfielder Miles Simington.
Goldeyes manager Logan Watkins, clearly seeing Matulovich didn’t have his best stuff, had Mitch Lambson already warming up in the bullpen before the frame was complete.
Matulovich settled down in the second and third innings, but control issues struck again in the fourth as he gave up back-to-back singles, then hit back-to-back batters to force in another run and make it 3-0.
That was the end of the line for him. Watkins went to the bullpen to start the fifth, but normally rock-solid reliever Ryder Yakel was tagged for four hits and two runs — while only recording two outs — which essentially put this one to bed.
Although pitchers Thomas Ponticelli and Tasker Strobel would combine to get the remaining 10 outs, giving up just one hit and striking out five, the damage was already done.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, could get nothing going against Sioux Falls hurler Tanner Brown, who cruised through seven scoreless innings and gave up just two hits while striking out nine.
The only real threat came in the third, when the score was still 2-0, courtesy of a pair of hits that had runners on second and third and nobody out. A pop out, strike out, intentional walk and then another strike out — on veteran slugger and team RBI-leader Max Murphy — ended the inning.
The Goldeyes had the bags full again with two outs in the eighth, but Simington went down swinging against relief pitcher Brady Stover. Closer Charlie Hasty then sealed it with a stress-free ninth.
Winnipeg finished first in the West with a 56-43 record and got to choose its first-round opponent for the divisional semi-final series. They opted for second-place Sioux Falls, who went 55-44, rather than third-place Fargo-Moorhead (53-47) or fourth-place Sioux City (49-51).
A big factor was how the teams played over the past few weeks, with the Canaries showing some cracks. Now the Goldeyes hope those can quickly re-appear as the series shifts back to Winnipeg for the conclusion this weekend.
X: @mikemcintyrewpg
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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