Lugnuts avoid no-hitter but not defeat in West Michigan finale

COMSTOCK PARK, MI – Jordan Díaz broke up a West Michigan no-hit bid with a double to right with one out in the seventh, but the Lansing Lugnuts (34-38) were blanked by the Whitecaps (33-38), 3-0, on Sunday night at LMCU Ballpark.

The Lugnuts, who struck out 15 Whitecaps in defeat, split the six-game series and are now 6-6 against the archrival Whitecaps, with all games played on the road. The series will shift to Lansing with six-game series in August and September forthcoming.

Cooper Johnson flared an RBI single off Lansing starter David Leal in the second inning and Parker Meadows knocked a two-run homer off reliever Charles Hall in the sixth inning, backing a sterling Whitecaps pitching performance that was tested at the very end.

In the ninth inning, the Lugnuts loaded the bases with two outs against Zack Hess on a Cobie Vance walk, Beck infield single and Díaz walk, but Patrick McColl grounded out to first base to end the game.

Former Louisville ace Adam Wolf had no-hit the Lugnuts through the first six innings, striking out nine while walking three. Zac Houston came on in the seventh inning, opening with a controversial strikeout of Austin Beck; a high-and-tight fastball drilled Beck in the shoulder as he fell instinctively away from the plate, but on appeal, bases umpire Bobby Tassone ruled that Beck’s bat had broken the plane of the zone.

Díaz followed with a sharp line drive down the right-field line, ending the Whitecaps’ hopes of a second no-hitter in 2021. Four Caps had combined to no-hit Fort Wayne nine days prior at LMCU Ballpark. Díaz was then caught stealing, ending any potential threat.

Lansing starter Leal whiffed five in three innings, allowing one run on three hits. Charlie Cerny worked a scoreless fourth, striking out two. Hall struck out four batters in the next two innings, allowing two runs on five hits, before Dalton Sawyer pitched the final two innings, walking one and striking out the final four batters he faced.

Lansing starter center fielder Michael Guldberg departed the game in the second inning after injuring his shoulder diving to catch Johnson’s RBI single.

After a day off Monday, the next Nuts homestand runs from July 27-August 1 vs. Fort Wayne, including White Claws & Paws/LAFCU Fireworks on July 30, a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bobblehead Giveaway on July 31 and a partnership with the Potter Park Zoo with the Lugnuts playing as the Lansing Black Rhinos on August 1. To purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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