Loons Bats Sputter, Fall in Shutout to Lansing

The Great Lakes Loons had a terrific pitching performance Friday night at Jackson Field in Lansing, Mich.: five hits, two walks, 13 strikeouts, just one run.

Unfortunately for them, the Lansing Lugnuts had a better one.

Lansing allowed just two hits and a walk with 12 strikeouts while keeping the Loons off the board on their way to a 1-0 victory.

The Lugnuts (31-48, 6-7 second half) got their run in the third inning. After a hit batsman to lead off the inning, Tyler Soderstrom smacked a double into centerfield to give the Lugnuts their 1-0 lead, the score which would become the final. That is the most damage done this year to Carlos Duran (L, 0-1), who gave up a pair of hits and walks in three innings while striking out six, allowing the lone run of the game, which was earned. Duran had a scoreless streak of 12 innings to start his year with the Loons, broken up by the Soderstrom double.

The Loons (48-31, 8-5) then turned to Emmet Sheehan, who was terrific in his scheduled relief appearance. Sheehan tossed four innings, allowing just two hits and no walks while punching out six batters. In the eighth inning, Ben Harris threw a scoreless frame, with a hit and a strikeout.

On the other side, Lansing lefty Jack Owen (W, 1-0) was spectacular. Owen was perfect through 4 2-3 innings, when Jose Ramos broke up the perfecto bid with a single. The final line for the Auburn lefty was one hit, no walks and seven strikeouts in six frames.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, got its only other hit in the seventh inning, thanks to an Eddys Leonard two-out single. Imanol Vargas walked after that to put a runner in scoring position, but the Loons came up empty. That was the only time the visitors had a runner in scoring position all night long.

Lansing, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, had terrific work out of its bullpen as well. Southpaw Kumar Nambiar spun two frames of one-hit, one-walk baseball, punching out a pair. He gave way to Trayson Kubo (SV, 7), who struck out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning.

The Lugnuts now take a 3-1 lead in the series, confirming that this six-game set will be the first that the Loons don’t win since splitting a set with the Fort Wayne TinCaps May 31-June 5 at Dow Diamond. The Loons’ four-series winning streak comes to an end, but they can still secure a series split.

Game four of the six-game set is Saturday at Jackson Field. Right-hander Nick Nastrini (1-2, 5.26 ERA) gets the start for Great Lakes, facing fellow righty Blake Beers (0-2, 3.71 ERA) for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. The Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland, kicks off pregame coverage on ESPN 100.9-FM at 6:50 p.m.

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.