Del Rosario quality, but Loons double up Nuts

MIDLAND, Mich. – Joelvis Del Rosario fanned five in his first quality start of the year, but the Great Lakes Loons (4-4, 49-24) rode a pair of swings from Chris Alleyne to a 4-2 win over the Lansing Lugnuts (3-5, 34-39) on Sunday afternoon at Dow Diamond.

The 22-year-old Del Rosario had first faced the Loons on Opening Day, shutting out Great Lakes on one hit through 4 2/3 innings. On this day, he finished six innings on 68 pitches, allowing only three hits and two walks – but an Alleyne two-run double in the fifth charged him with the defeat.

Two innings later, Alleyne drilled a two-run triple off Lugnuts lefty John Beller, doubling the lead to 4-0.

The insurance proved valuable when the Nuts rallied late.

Facing Jack Dreyer in the eighth inning, Clark Elliott beat out an infield single, took second on a throwing error by catcher Dalton Rushing, tagged and advanced to third on a Max Muncy flyout to right, and raced home on a wild pitch to bring the Lugnuts within 4-1.

Facing Michael Hobbs in the ninth, Danny Bautista, Jr. singled to right, stole second, stole third and scored on a Jack Winkler two-out RBI single. That brought up CJ Rodriguez as the potential game-tying run – but Rodriguez lined out to Alleyne in right to end the game.

In defeat, Winkler and Elliott each collected two hits.

One game remains in the series, with the Lugnuts sending right-hander Mitch Myers to the mound in search of the series split. Great Lakes counters with lefty Justin Wrobleski. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. Monday.

The Lugnuts then return home on Independence Day, hosting the Lake County Captains in a six-game series. Tickets are available via lansinglugnuts.com or by calling (517) 485-4500 during office hours.

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