Furman’s Seventh Home Run, Messick’s Masterful Outing Anchor 5-1 Captains Win

EASTLAKE, OH – Lake County tallied 12 hits, and 3B Nate Furman hit his team-high seventh home run of the year to guide the Captains (24-19) to a 5-1 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps (22-21) on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

Furman notched a team-best three hits, and has now notched 27 hits since May 10, the most in Minor League and Major League Baseball during that span.

Captains LHP Parker Messick (3-4), MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 Cleveland prospect, earned his third victory of the season, pitching six shutout innings and throwing a season-high 10 strikeouts. Whitecaps RHP Dylan Smith (0-3), MLB Pipeline’s No. 22 Detroit prospect, recorded the loss, allowing four runs while fanning five in 4.1 innings.

Lake County first got to Smith in the bottom of the third when 1B C.J. Kayfus, MLB Pipeline’s No. 28 Cleveland prospect, hit an RBI double down the right field line to score Furman. CF Jonah Advincula then doubled the Captains’ lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out RBI single that scored DH Johnny Tincher.

In the bottom of the fifth, Furman’s lead-off homer began a three-run explosion for the Captains. Kayfus followed with a single and scored on a balk by West Michigan LHP Gabe Sequeira. Three at-bats later, Tincher roped an RBI single.

West Michigan scored its lone run in the top of the seventh after a solo home run by 3B Luis Santana, his second of the series while on a Minor League rehab assignment.

Lake County LHP Steve Hajjar, RHP Jay Driver, and RHP Zach Jacobs combined for one earned run allowed, three strikeouts and one walk out of the Captains’ bullpen.

First pitch for the fifth game of this week’s scheduled six-game series between the Captains and Whitecaps is scheduled for Saturday night at 6:35 p.m.

Cleveland Guardians OF Steven Kwan will make Lake County’s first MLB rehab assignment appearance since August 29, 2021, and LHP Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson will get the start in his High-A debut. The Captains will also host We Are Not Detroit Night at the ballpark, with special guest DJ Z13 in attendance.

The game will be broadcast on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on both X and Instagram.

Notes To Know

- After not homering in his first 115 Minor League games, INF Nate Furman has hit his first seven professional home runs in his last 24 contests.

- LHP Parker Messick now owns the last two double-digit strikeout performances for the Captains. In addition to punching 10 tickets on Friday, he fanned 10 on August 18, 2023 versus Peoria.

- Lake County starters have now tossed 14 quality starts, the most in High-A and tied for the fourth-most in Minor League Baseball.

- RHP Jay Driver has now spun nine straight shutout outings out of the bullpen, the longest active streak in the Midwest League. Cleveland’s 2023 ninth-round pick out of Harvard has spun 11.1 scoreless innings during this span.

The Lake County Captains are the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and have been a Class A Affiliate of Cleveland since the team was founded in 2003. To find out more information about the Captains or purchase tickets, visit CaptainsBaseball.com, or call (440) 975-8085.