In third straight 5-3 final, Johnson lifts Caps in 9th
LANSING, Mich. – Dom Johnson hit Jake Garland’s first pitch of the ninth inning 419 feet out to center field, breaking a 3-3 tie, and the West Michigan Whitecaps (33-24, 65-67) topped the Lansing Locos (26-32, 57-66), 5-3, on Friday night at Jackson® Field™. It was the third straight game
LANSING, Mich. – Dom Johnson hit Jake Garland’s first pitch of the ninth inning 419 feet out to center field, breaking a 3-3 tie, and the West Michigan Whitecaps (33-24, 65-67) topped the Lansing Locos (26-32, 57-66), 5-3, on Friday night at Jackson® Field™.
It was the third straight game in the series that ended in a 5-3 result, following a Whitecaps victory on Wednesday and a Lugnuts win on Thursday.
Coincidentally, a week earlier, the Lugnuts had defeated the Dayton Dragons three straight times by a 3-2 score.
The game began with the Lansing debut of 20-year-old Luis Morales, whose fastball regularly hit 98-99 mph while striking out four batters in 3 2/3 innings, though he allowed solo tallies in the second, third and fourth innings – the first two courtesy of solo home runs from Izaac Pacheco and Gage Workman.
The Locos meanwhile countered Tigers prospect Troy Melton with three straight extra-base hits in the second inning: a T.J. Schofield-Sam double, CJ Rodriguez two-run triple and Euribiel Ángeles RBI double that capped a three-run rally.
The score remained tied at 3-3 into the late-going due to the work of Garland, who held the Whitecaps hitless and scoreless from the fifth through the eighth innings.
But the ninth began with a bang courtesy of Johnson, breaking the deadlock with his first High-A home run. The Whitecaps added insurance on a Luke Gold RBI fielder’s choice before Garland wrapped up the inning, finishing his line at 5 1/3 innings, striking out five while allowing two runs on three hits and four walks (one intentional).
Gabe Sequeira set the side down in order in the bottom of the ninth to give West Michigan its third win in the first four games of the series.
In the loss, Lansing first baseman Brennan Milone went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Saturday night is Fan Appreciation Night, with reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Gunnar Hoglund on the mound for his home debut. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. start. Tickets are available at the box office, via lansinglugnuts.com or by calling (517) 485-4500.
# # #