‘Caps ‘Peck’ Away at Division Deficit in 9-5 Win
DAYTON, OH — Infielder Johnny Peck enjoyed a career-high four RBI performance with a three-hit night as the West Michigan Whitecaps trimmed their deficit in the Midwest League Eastern Division playoff race with a 9-5 win over the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,549 fans Thursday at Day Air Ballpark.
DAYTON, OH — Infielder Johnny Peck enjoyed a career-high four RBI performance with a three-hit night as the West Michigan Whitecaps trimmed their deficit in the Midwest League Eastern Division playoff race with a 9-5 win over the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,549 fans Thursday at Day Air Ballpark.
Peck, who joined the ‘Caps on August 16 and recorded just four hits in his first seven games with the team, has erupted during the series in Dayton. The 22-year-old has collected eight hits through the three games of this series, finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle as the Whitecaps pulled to 4.5 games behind Dayton for the top spot in the Midwest League Eastern Division and a trip to the 2024 Postseason.
West Michigan took full command of the contest with their big second inning. After a leadoff single by Izaac Pacheco, Peck launched his first Whitecaps homer to take a 2-0 lead. Four batters later, Dom Johnson blasted his third homer of the season and first since returning from Single-A Lakeland to expand the West Michigan advantage to 5-0. In the third, Ethan O’Donnell countered with a two-run homer to help Dayton come within two at 5-3. The score remained until the fifth when Peck delivered a two-run double, giving him his career-best performance as part of the Thursday victory. In the sixth, the Dragons crawled back into the contest with a two-run homer from Leo Balcazar before loading the bases with one out. West Michigan opted for a pitching change and reliever Max Alba, who induced a ground ball to force out a run at home plate before an inning-ending strikeout of Jay Allen to end the threat. The ‘Caps collected single insurance runs in the subsequent two frames highlighted by a run-scoring double from Roberto Campos to take a 9-5 lead and extend his 2024 team-best hitting streak to 14 games. Meanwhile, the West Michigan bullpen settled in to retire nine straight hitters and 11 of the final 12 batters they faced to seal the victory and send the Whitecaps to victories in two of the series’ first three games.
The Whitecaps improve to 31-25 in the second half and keep their overall record over .500 at 62-60. Detroit Tigers Top-20 prospect Joseph Montalvo (1-1) tossed five innings and allowed three runs in earning his first victory as a Whitecap, while Dragons starter Brian Edgington (2-1) gave up seven runs in five frames in taking his first loss. Peck, Izaac Pacheco, and Seth Stephenson each collected three hits to pace West Michigan’s 15-hit attack.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this series against the Dayton Dragons on Friday at 7:05 pm. Pitcher Colin Fields gets the start for West Michigan against the Dragons Jose Franco. Tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network beginning at 6:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids to catch all the action. Don’t miss out on the excitement; get tickets for all remaining 2024 home contests, or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.