Jul. 23—The Eau Claire Express were quiet in their return from the All-Star break.
Eau Claire mustered three hits in a 4-1 defeat at Mankato on Thursday in the first action since a three-day rest for the All-Star festivities.
MoonDogs pitcher Jarret Krzyzanowski worked five innings of two-hit baseball, striking out five. The Mankato bullpen was equally daunting, combining for four shutout innings.
The Express scored their lone run on an RBI single from Fall Creek native Marcus Cline in the second inning.
Alex Baeza had a quick answer for Mankato though, belting a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to put the MoonDogs in front for good.
Shane Spencer pitched well for Eau Claire but didn’t get enough run support from his offense. He threw five innings, with the home run serving as the only blip on the radar. He struck out three and brought his season ERA to 3.04.
Cline, Ryan Lin-Peistrup and Drew Lechnir had the Express’ only three hits. Mankato set Eau Claire down in order in five of the nine innings.
The Express (8-7 in the second half) will try to salvage a series tie with a rematch on Friday night before returning home to host La Crosse on Saturday. They play at La Crosse on Sunday.