Early Offense, Solid Pitching Secures Loons Series Victory

MIDLAND, Mich. – Coming into Sunday’s series finale at Dow Diamond against the Fort Wayne TinCaps, the Great Lakes Loons had been held scoreless for 10 consecutive innings.

They broke that streak in the first inning.

Great Lakes scored four runs in the first three innings and used some terrific pitching to dispatch the TinCaps, 4-3, and win the six-game series.

The Loons (73-47, 33-21 second half) got the scoring started in the first frame. After a walk, Jorbit Vivas launched his 10th homer of the season over the right field wall, putting the Loons ahead, 2-0.

Fort Wayne (47-72, 20-33) retaliated in the next half-inning. After three walks, a throwing error scored one run and a force out scored the other on back-to-back ground ball fielders’ choice plays.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, retook the lead in the bottom of the second. A solo home run from Ismael Alcantara gave the Loons a 3-2 lead. It was Alcantara’s third home run of the week, his fifth in High-A and his eighth of the season overall.

Alcantara continued his good day in the next inning. Vivas led off with a single, then Alcantara roped an RBI double to push the Loons’ advantage to 4-2. All of that damage was done against Fort Wayne starter Garrett Hawkins (L, 0-1), though only two of the four runs he ceded in 3 2-3 innings were earned. He walked four and struck out three.

The TinCaps, High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, had much more success from their bullpen. The combo of Luis Madrazo and Seth Mayberry combined to allow no hits and just two walks to the Loons in the final 4 1-3 innings on offense, keeping the Loons stuck at four runs.

Fort Wayne started a comeback effort in the sixth inning. A walk and a single put two men aboard with nobody out, a sacrifice bunt put them both in scoring position before a sac fly from Justin Farmer, bringing the TinCaps within a run, down 4-3.

But that’s as close as they would get. The Loons bullpen was excellent, with the largest contribution from Robbie Peto (W, 6-0). The right-hander tossed four innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out one.

After Peto came a perfect inning with a pair of punchouts from Jeff Belge. Braydon Fisher then came in and retired five in a row before allowing a two-out single in the ninth inning. Ben Harris (SV, 3) hit the first batter he faced to put the tying TinCaps runner in scoring position, but he struck out the final batter to confirm the Great Lakes victory.

The Loons win the series over Fort Wayne, four games to two, and take the season series by a 12-6 mark. Great Lakes has Monday off before welcoming in the Lake County Captains (69-49, 34-18) to Dow Diamond for a six-game series beginning Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. The Captains have won seven of their last eight contests. It’s the final week of regular season fun at Dow Diamond, with a beer run, a hat giveaway, fireworks and more. For the full promotional schedule and to purchase tickets, visit Loons.com.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.