Lake County and Great Lakes to Clash for First Time in 2024

EASTLAKE, OH – The Lake County Captains (1-2, 41-26) will host the Great Lakes Loons (2-1, 34-32) for six games at Classic Auto Group Park starting on Tuesday in a battle of the top two overall teams in the Midwest League East Division.

FEELS LIKE 2010

• On June 15 against Fort Wayne, OF Guy Lipscomb beat out a double play throw in the bottom of the 10^th inning to walk off the TinCaps and clinch the Midwest League East First Half title.
• The Captains secured their first MWL East First Half Championship since 2010, the same year they won their lone Midwest League title.
• Manager Omir Santos won his second MiLB First Half Division title in four seasons as a Minor League manager. Santos also won in 2022 with the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats. Six current Captains played on that team.

LAST TIMES OUT

• Lake County won four of six games at South Bend (High-A, Chicago Cubs) in a rematch of the 2022 Midwest League Championship Series. The Captains won their final three games of the First Half, outscoring the Cubs 17-8.
• Great Lakes (High-A, Los Angeles Dodgers) won two out of six games versus Quad Cities (High-A, Kansas City Royals). The Loons lost the first three games before taking two of the last three contests, including a doubleheader split on Sunday.

A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS

• Lake County is 1-2 in the Second Half and is currently in fourth place in the MWL East, one game out of second behind Fort Wayne and Great Lakes, and two games out of first place. The Captains clinched a playoff berth earlier this month with their First Half title.
• Great Lakes is 2-1 in the Second Half and is tied with Fort Wayne (High-A, San Diego Padres) for second place in the MWL East, trailing by one game to West Michigan (High-A, Detroit Tigers).

5 PLAYERS TO KNOW – LAKE COUNTY

• INF Alex Mooney, MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 Cleveland prospect, is 1 of 11 players in Minor League Baseball with a .290-plus batting average, 20-plus extra-base hits, and 20-plus stolen bases. His 24 stolen bases are the most by a Captain through the first 69 team games since Delvi Cid stole 28 in 2010.
• C Cooper Ingle is tied for second in the Midwest League with 16 doubles and leads MWL catchers with a .331 batting average (min. 100 AB). Ingle’s .482 on-base percentage since May 17 is the fifth-highest in all of MiLB.
• RHP Trenton Denholm ranks tied for first in the Midwest League in wins (seven), second in WHIP (0.96), third in ERA (2.87), and tied for fourth in opposing average (.212). Denholm has earned two straight quality starts, and has six total on the season.
• OF Jorge Burgos sits tied for second in the MWL in home runs (three), third in OPS (1.333), and fifth in batting average (.333) since June 14. The reigning Midwest League Player of the Week is 4-for-9 over his last two games, and has blasted two homers in his last four contests.
• RHP Magnus Ellerts is tied for second in the Midwest League with seven saves, and is tied for third among MWL relievers with 41 strikeouts. His 39% strikeout rate is the third-highest among MWL pitchers with 20-plus innings pitched.

5 PLAYERS TO KNOW – GREAT LAKES

• OF Chris Newell leads High-A and ranks fourth in Minor League Baseball with 19 home runs. Newell leads the Midwest League with 51 RBI, and sits third with a .912 OPS. His 18-game on base streak is also the second longest active streak in the Midwest League.
• LHP Jackson Ferris, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Dodgers prospect, ranks second to former Captain Austin Peterson for the Midwest League lead in strikeouts (81). In his last start on June 23 versus Quad Cities, Ferris went six shutout innings, striking out eight in the 1-0 win.
• RHP Peter Heubeck, MLB Pipeline’s No. 30 Dodgers prospect, has posted a 35.5% strikeout rate in 12 starts, the highest among Midwest League pitchers with 40-plus innings pitched. His 11 strikeouts on May 26 versus Beloit are the most by a Loon this season.
• C/1B Thayron Liranzo, MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 Dodgers prospect, ranks sixth in the Midwest League with a 15.9% walk rate. Liranzo ranks second on Great Lakes in OPS (.736), walks (38), and hits (46), all trailing Chris Newell.
• INF Noah Miller, MLB Pipeline’s No. 26 Dodgers prospect, ranks tied for fourth in the Midwest League with 71 hits. He is the younger brother of Owen Miller, who is currently with the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A, Milwaukee Brewers) and played for Cleveland in 2021-22.

SCHEDULE

• Tuesday, June 25: 6:05 p.m.
  • Picantes Night
    • Guest on-field host Carlos Baerga
  • Free mini golf
• Wednesday, June 26: 11 a.m.
  • Camp Day
    • Pregame catch on the field
  • Spectacular Senior Day (presented by Medical Mutual)
• Thursday, June 27: 7 p.m.
  • Dawg Day – Bulldogs
  • Free mini golf
• Friday, June 28: 7 p.m.
  • Friday Night Fireworks (presented by Minute Men)
  • Random Jersey Night
    • The Athletic Senior Writer Zack Meisel will be in attendance
• Saturday, June 29: 7 p.m.
  • Pride Night
• Sunday, June 30: 1 p.m.
  • Cleveland Crunch Day
  • Family Fun Sunday (presented by Classic Auto Group)
    • Pregame autographs (12-12:20 p.m.)
    • Pregame catch on the field (12:10-12:30 p.m.)
    • Postgame kids run the bases