The Otters sent out Joan Gonzalez for his eighth start of the season and he started off hot with two strikeouts in the first frame. He got a couple of quick outs in the second before two-out hits scored a run for Washington.
The Wild Things put runners at second and third with no one out in the third but Gonzalez found three straight outs without allowing a run.
Evansville found their offense in the fourth. After a JT Benson leadoff single, LJ Jones hit his seventh home run of the year, jumping Evansville out in front 2-1. The Otters pulled their own two-out rally in the fifth as Benson singled to single to add to the lead. Graham Brown launched a solo shot in the seventh, making him one of four Otters with 11 homers in the year.
Gonzalez settled into the ball game, sending down 11 of the next 12 batters he faced from the third into the seventh. The Wild Things found some more two-out hits, scoring another run, making the Evansville lead 4-2.
The reformed Otters bullpen sent Gunnar Dennis to get the final out of the seventh, which he did by striking him out and stranding a runner at second. He worked the eighth, using two punchouts to work a 1-2-3 inning. Garret Crowley was called on to earn his third save for Evansville. After striking out the side in the finale against Joliet, he did the same, closing out Evansville’s 4-2 victory.
The Otters bullpen needed seven outs and faced the minimum while striking out six of seven batters. Evansville extends their longest win streak of the season to six, the longest active streak in the Frontier League.
The Otters take on Washington for the middle game at 5:05 p.m. CT before the finale on Thursday. After the three-game set, they return to Evansville for the final six home games at Bosse Field in 2025.
