May 31, 2015 2 min read

SAUGET, Ill. – David Popkins hit a home run and the Wild Things used a pair of three-run innings to defeat the Gateway Grizzlies 6-4 in a rain-delayed Frontier League game Saturday night at GCS Ballpark.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Wild Things (6-8), who clinched a winning nine-game road trip. The trip concludes with a game today at Gateway.

Washington has won 11 in a row over the Grizzlies, a streak that dates back to 2013.

Popkins gave the Wild Things a lead two batters into the game when he hit a two-run homer, his team-leading fourth of the season. The lead grew to 3-0 in the first inning when Edinson Rincon drove in a run on a groundout.

All of Gateway’s runs came on home runs. Richard Seigel tied the score at 3-3 with a three-run homer in the second inning off Washington starter Ernesto Zaragoza (1-0). Zaragoza was making his Wild Things debut. He was drafted by Washington at the Frontier League tryout in April but released in the final round of cuts during spring training. The Wild Things re-signed Zaragoza Saturday in time to make the start and he pitched five innings to get the win.

Washington took a 6-3 lead in the third inning, getting run-scoring hits from Lee Orr and Jeudy Valdez and another RBI groundout by Rincon.

Gateway pulled to within 6-4 on a solo homer by Blake Brown in the sixth inning. The Grizzlies loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Washington reliever Richie Mirowski entered the game at that point and got an inning-ending strikeout. Mirowski retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save.