Joey Havrilak just signed with the RailCats a week ago.
But the outfielder, a former Detroit Tigers farmhand, turned in a performance Sunday that helped buoy their postseason aspirations.
Havrilak went 3-for-5 with two doubles, five RBIs and two runs as the RailCats downed Kansas City 10-5 at the Steel Yard.
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The RailCats (52-40) tied the T-Bones (52-40) for second in the wild-card race, winning the series finale after losing each of the first two games by 8-0 counts.
Fargo-Moorhead (52-39) has a half-game lead over both teams after edging St. Paul 6-5 in 11 innings Sunday.
“The playoff push is something you want no matter what team you’re on,” Havrilak said. “That’s why you play from the beginning of the year until now. Every game is important — you have to win them all.”
With Sunday’s win, which included a benches-clearing incident in the bottom of the eighth, the RailCats also clinched a 7-6 season series victory against Kansas City, a potential tiebreaker.
“Would we have loved to have taken all three?” RailCats manager Greg Tagert said. “Absolutely. But if you’re going to win one, it might as well be this one.
“The swing here would’ve been dramatic.”
Havrilak’s two-run double highlighted a second inning in which the RailCats sent 10 batters to the plate for five runs. He had another two-run double in the third and added an RBI single in the fifth.
“Some days you have good days, some days you have bad days,” Havrilak said. “The day felt pretty good starting off in BP. Usually that’s a good indication it’s going to be a good day.”
Havrilak also made a terrific diving catch in right field for the first out in the ninth. In seven games with the RailCats, he pushed his batting average to .391.
The Tigers selected Havrilak out of Akron in the 15th round of the 2015 draft. He broke his left thumb, requiring surgery, in March and was released in June. The 25-year-old from Washington, Pa., played in a local league to stay in shape.
“Big day by Joey,” Tagert said. “He’s cemented himself on this club.”
Alex Gunn (8-5) notched the win with his seventh straight quality start. The left-hander went six innings, allowing three runs — a solo homer and a two-run shot to Niko Vasquez — on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
From the dugout, RailCats outfielder Reggie Wilson was ejected for defending teammate Kris Goodman for tagging from second to third in a 10-4 game, a move Kansas City pitcher Jackson Lowery did not appreciate.
Lowery threw two inside pitches to Ryan Fitzgerald, emptying the benches with no punches thrown.
“As I tell our players on Day 1 and every time I sign them, the only places that care about winning are our league and the big leagues,” Tagert said. “I don’t know if I’ve been as upset at an opposing pitcher in all my time here.
“My concern was the umpires’ lack of recognition of the situation. They clearly were throwing at Fitzgerald, and it was mishandled by the umpiring crew.”
The RailCats have eight games remaining, opening a four-game series Monday night at Sioux Falls. They close with a Labor Day weekend wraparound series at home against Central Division-leading Lincoln (55-35).
“We’re heading off and running on fumes a little bit,” Tagert said.
The RailCats improved to 4-3 since their 8-5 loss at Lincoln on Aug. 21, the day of the total solar eclipse. With the RailCats leading, that game was halted for 26 minutes in the third, with glasses distributed. The Saltdogs shined for eight runs in the fifth.
“I didn’t know at the time, we were noted as one of the five best places in the country for the eclipse,” Tagert said.
“The place was sold out, every spot on the berm. I realize where my paychecks come from. To see they had done it throughout the country at a few places, I was OK with it.”
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