Locos' rally in 9th falls short, 4-3
LANSING, Mich. – Blanked on four hits and down by four runs entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the Lansing Locos (26-32) rallied to put the potential tying and game-winning runs aboard before falling to the Peoria Chiefs (30-29), 4-3, on Wednesday night at Jackson® Field™. The Chiefs have
*LANSING, Mich. – *Blanked on four hits and down by four runs entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the Lansing Locos (26-32) rallied to put the potential tying and game-winning runs aboard before falling to the Peoria Chiefs (30-29), 4-3, on Wednesday night at Jackson® Field™.
The Chiefs have escaped with one-run victories in each of the first two games of the series, triumphing in ten innings in the Tuesday opener before holding on tight through an exciting bottom of the ninth on Wednesday.
Peoria built its 4-0 lead quickly, tallying one run in the first and three in the second against Locos starter Joelvis Del Rosario. But though he gave up ten hits in five innings, Del Rosario blanked the Chiefs from there before handing the baton to Christian Fernandez for four scoreless innings of two-hit relief.
Meanwhile, Lansing managed nothing against Peoria starter Ian Bedell through five innings and was similarly shut out by reliever Gustavo Rodriguez in the next three frames.
Jonny Butler ended Rodriguez’s night with a leadoff double in the ninth, causing Peoria to go to closer Andrew Marrero. Daniel Susac grounded out to short, but Clark Elliott and Brayan Buelvas worked back-to-back walks on 3-2 pitches to load the bases. A fielding error by shortstop Jeremy Rivas on a Drew Swift grounder brought in Butler, drawing Lansing within 4-1. Jack Winkler followed by singling home Elliott and CJ Rodriguez – after blasting a long foul down the left field line – scored Buelvas with a sacrifice fly to shave the Chiefs’ lead to one run.
With the tying run at third and the winning run at first, Euribiel Ángeles grounded an 0-2 pitch deep into the shortstop hole. Rivas rushed to his right, backhanded it and made a jumping throw to second baseman Ramon Mendoza to force out Winkler by a whisker, ending the game.
In defeat, Buelvas led the Lansing offense with two singles and a walk in four plate appearances.
The third game of the six-game series arrives on a Coors Light Thirsty Thursday with a 90s Night theme, featuring $2 domestic drafts and $5 craft drafts. Talented right-hander Jose Dichochea is scheduled to make his Lansing debut, opposed by Peoria right-hander Trent Baker. Tickets are available via lansinglugnuts.com or by calling (517) 485-4500.
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