Vargas, Lugnuts walk off Dragons, 7-6

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts (42-46) rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 6-5 to walk off the Dayton Dragons (47-41), 7-6, on Yerdel Vargas’s one-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, thrilling 6,128 on Friday night at Jackson® Field™.

The Lugnuts had been held to a total of seven runs in losing the first three games of the series to the East Division leaders, but the offense awakened with the support of a quartet of strong performances.

Right fielder Elvis Peralta, Jr. went 3-for-4 with three steals of second and two runs scored; center fielder Austin Beck was 3-for-4 with a single, RBI double, two-run homer and walk; catcher Jared McDonald finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a single and a crucial defensive play; and second baseman Vargas went 2-for-4 with two singles, a walk, a steal, and three enormous RBIs.

The final two innings were filled with dramatic moments.

Facing José Mora with two outs in the top of the eighth, 2021 Reds ninth-rounder Jack Rogers slugged his first professional home run to break a 5-5 tie, giving the Dragons a one-run lead.

In the bottom of the eight, Vargas led off with a walk against Dayton reliever Vin Timpanelli. After pinch-hitter Brett Harris struck out and Cobie Vance flied out, Timpanelli served up a game-tying RBI double to Peralta, Jr. – the fifth straight game for Peralta, Jr., with a double. Beck and William Simoneit each walked to load the bases, but Timpanelli struck out Jordan Díaz to keep the score tied.

In the top of the ninth, new Lugnuts reliever Charles Hall walked Juan Martínez, who was pinch-run for by Alex McGarry. After a successful sacrifice from Eric Yang, Jacob Hurtubise walked. The runners moved to second and third on a groundout from Michael Siani, bringing up 2021 first-rounder Matt McLain. A Hall curve bounced away from catcher McDonald, and McGarry attempted to score from third – only to see McDonald quickly recover and toss to Hall covering at the plate. McGarry was tagged out for the third out, taking the bat out of McLain’s hands.

That set the stage for the bottom of the ninth against Dayton right-hander Sam Hellinger. McDonald led off with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Drew Swift. DJ Lee sacrificed Swift to second base, bringing up Vargas. After a called strike one, Vargas fouled off four straight pitches before sneaking a grounder just out of the reach of diving second baseman Ivan Johnson. The play at the plate was tight, with right fielder Rogers’s throw arriving at the same as Swift slid in. Home-plate umpire Jen Pawol ruled the Lugnuts’ runner safe, touching off a wild celebration in the infield around Vargas.

Lansing manager Scott Steinmann followed along with the wild finish from the clubhouse; he had been ejected in the second inning by bases umpire Tom O’Neil following a ruling that Dayton’s Quin Cotton had hit a two-run homer off the top of the left-field wall. It was Steinmann’s fourth ejection of the year.

Lansing starter Shohei Tomioka tossed four inning-plus in a no-decision, departing after a leadoff walk in the fifth, striking out four in total while allowing three hits, three runs and just the one walk. Brandon Withers pitched the next two innings, giving up two runs (one earned) while striking out two, before yielding to Mora for the seventh and eighth and Hall for the ninth.

The night began in a special manner, with Lansing native Taylor Manson, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, tossing out a ceremonial first pitch in her welcome home.

Saturday night, the fifth game of the six-game series, is at 7:05 p.m. on Latino Night, with the Lansing Locos taking the field at 7:05 p.m. against the Dragons as part of Copa de la Diversión. Lansing right-hander Jack Cushing (2.48 ERA) takes on Dayton right-hander Eduardo Salazar (3.92 ERA) in the starting matchup, with LAFCU Fireworks following the game. To purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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