LANSING, Mich. - Matt Gunter pitched five innings of two-hit, one-run baseball and the Lansing Lugnuts (5-1, 48-28) built an 8-1 lead - and hung on through a late Lake County Captains (2-4, 31-45) for an 8-7 victory on Tuesday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.The Lugnuts have won eight
LANSING, Mich. - Matt Gunter pitched five innings of two-hit, one-run baseball and the Lansing Lugnuts (5-1, 48-28) built an 8-1 lead - and hung on through a late Lake County Captains (2-4, 31-45) for an 8-7 victory on Tuesday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
The Lugnuts have won eight of their last nine games, all played at home, and snapped a streak of four consecutive losses to Lake County.
Gunter (Win, 1-3) equaled his season high, holding the Captains to just a fourth-inning single from Oscar Gonzalez and a fifth-inning double from J.J. Berardi, with Berardi later scoring on a Miguel Eladio groundout.
Lake County starter Jean Carlos Mejía (Loss, 0-2) fared much worse, pitching 3 2/3 innings and allowing a run in the first inning and four in the fourth, capped by a two-run single from Chavez Young .
Kevin Vicuña added a two-run double in a three-run sixth inning against reliever Felix Tati, giving the Lugnuts a seven-run lead.
Then the game tightened.
Jonathan Laureano led off the seventh inning with a solo home run against Emerson Jimenez , trimming the lead to 8-2. After the Captains loaded the bases with two outs on a walk, a fielder's choice and an error, Jimenez hit both Will Benson - disputed by manager Cesar Martin, leading to his ejection by home-plate umpire Chris Presley - and Erlin Cerda with pitches to make it 8-4. Claudio Custodio relieved Jimenez and Gonzalez greeted him with a broken-bat two-run double, pulling the Captains within 8-6. Custodio escaped further damage, inducing a groundout from Laureano.
After a scoreless eighth, Todd Isaacs opened the ninth inning with a home run off the video board, narrowing the Nuts' lead to one run. Both Benson and Cerda grounded out, putting the Captains on the brink. Gonzalez renewed hope for the visitors with a triple off the center field wall, but Custodio (Save, 3) coaxed a flyout to right from Laureano to end the rally and the game.
In the victory, Young went 2-for-4 with a walk, single, double, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Ryan Gold added a pair of singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly, and Brock Lundquist went 2-for-4 with a single and a double.
The Lugnuts go for the series victory of Lake County in the homestand finale, a Winning Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. Right-hander Donnie Sellers (4.70 ERA) gets the start against Captains southpaw Kirk McCarty (5.60). To purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
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