Baseball Game Preview: Salinas Cowboys vs. Palma Chieftains

Salinas hasn't had much luck against Palma recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Cowboys will challenge the Chieftains at 4:00 p.m.

On Thursday, Salinas came up short against Hollister and fell 5-1. The Cowboys have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Palma hadn't done well against Hollister recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Chieftains walked away with a 4-1 victory over the Haybalers. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Chieftains.

Alan Gonzalez made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, Manny Dorantes was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.

Palma pushed their record up to 17-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Salinas, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-13.

Salinas suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Palma in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Cowboys avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.