Loons Comeback Effort Too Little, Too Late

The Great Lakes Loons needed three runs in the late innings Thursday night to send the game to extras, and they got them.

Saturday night at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio, they got three runs in the eighth inning – but this time they needed more, and they couldn’t find them.

The Lake County Captains scored the first five runs of the game and cruised to a 6-3 victory, despite the late Loons comeback effort

Lake County (54-45, 19-14 second half) got out to a three-run advantage in the first inning. After a double and a walk, Joe Naranjo clobbered his 15th home run of the season for the 3-0 lead.

The Captains, High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, added another run in the fourth inning, with four singles in the frame. The RBI came from Angel Martinez before a double play ended the frame with the home team in front, 4-0. All four of those runs were earned to Loons starter Ben Casparius (L, 1-2), who struck out six and walked just one in his four innings, allowing seven hits.

Lake County added another run in the sixth inning, thanks to a solo shot from Korey Holland, his sixth of the season and his third extra base hit in three games this series. That made it a five-run Captains lead.

The Loons (60-41, 20-15) had good relief work from Robbie Peto, whose lone run was the Holland homer. The right-hander tossed three frames, allowed four hits and two walks, and struck out three.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, struggled to do damage against Lake County starter Jack Leftwich (W, 3-0). The righty spun six scoreless innings, walking none and allowing five hits while punching out four.

The eighth inning saw the Loons begin their comeback effort. Eddys Leonard led off the frame with a single, and after a walk, he scored on a fielder’s choice. That put one man on and one out for Jose Ramos, who hit his third home run of the week, his 17th as a Loon, and his 23rd of the season. The Loons trailed by just two runs, 5-3.

That’s as close as the visitors would get. Lake County drove in another run in the eighth inning on a single from Johnathan Rodriguez to push the lead to 6-3. While there would be some traffic on the bases in the top of the ninth thanks to two walks and a single, but Trey Benton (SV, 5) did enough to keep the Loons off the board and secure the victory.

The Loons had a decent night at the plate with nine hits, but only pushed three runs across. Jorbit Vivas and Kekai Rios both had two hits in the contest.

Lake County takes the lead in the series, three games to two, with the final game coming Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. If Lake County wins the series, they will also even up the season set. If the Loons can salvage a series split with a win Sunday, they will retake a two-game season series lead. Kendall Williams (2-3, 4.42 ERA) will get the start for Great Lakes, with fellow righty Tommy Mace (0-4, 4.76 ERA) toeing the rubber for the Captains in a rematch of the pitching matchup from Tuesday. ESPN 100.9-FM has all the action, beginning with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland, at 6:45 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.