SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Sioux Falls Canaries starting pitcher Ben Moore suffered one of his toughest starts in recent memory, and the Canaries took an 11-4 defeat at the hands of the Trois-Rivieres Aigles on Wednesday night.

In front of 4,518 fans at Sioux Falls Stadium, Moore (7-5) fell behind quickly in the top of the first inning when Steve Brown led off with a double and scored three batters later on Cam Kneeland’s single. Jeremy Nowak later doubled in two runs. A solo home run came in the second, and the Aigles piled on six runs in the third inning, including a two-run double by Richard Arias and a two-run home run from David Cooper.

The veteran right-hander exited after just 2 2/3 innings, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on 10 hits. He struck out three men.

Meanwhile, Aigles starter Alexander Burkard (7-3) held the Canaries (30-40) scoreless through the first six innings. The Birds finally got on the board in the seventh with Stephen King’s RBI single.  Jake Taylor capped a 3-for-4 night with a run-scoring base hit in the eighth, and Anthony Trajano and Cory Morales each had an RBI in the ninth.

Burkard yielded two runs in eight innings overall on eight hits. He walked one and struck out five as the Aigles (30-38) evened the three-game series at one game apiece.

Five Canaries relievers combined to allow only one unearned run across the final 6 1/3 innings. Canaries pitchers combined to strike out 12 batters.

The rubber game of the three-game series against Trois-Rivieres is at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday at Sioux Falls Stadium.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Canaries

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