Loons Lockdown Captains 5-0

Midland, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (38-17) blanked the Lake County Captains (26-29) 5-0, their eighth shutout of 2023 on a 78-degree partly cloudy Friday night at Dow Diamond.

With the win, the Loons' “magic number” is now three. 11 games remain in the first-half schedule, with the Loons atop the division by nine games over the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Yon Castro was untouchable through 3.2 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out three. His start was cut short after visible discomfort on the mound. Christian Suarez worked 1.1 innings, finishing the fourth. Suarez spun the fifth working around two walks, the second which loaded the bases and struck out Jake Fox to end the inning.

Ryan Webb Lake County's starter, faced the minimum through the first three innings. Chris Newell opened the scoring, with a solo shot 412 feet to deep right field. The first hit of the game, with his third homer in his first 10 games.

The Loons bullpen through the middle innings, capped the Captains through the final three innings. Michael Hobbs allowed a Joe Lampe triple, but then forced a fielder’s choice from first to home. Lampe was tagged out by Dalton Rushing at the plate.

Mitchell Tyranski twirled the seventh, permitting just one hit. Benony Robles stranded two with an inning-ending strikeout in the eighth. Jack Dreyer, entered in the ninth and after a leadoff walk, gained a strikeout and then a game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

Great Lakes offensively tacked on four runs in the final three innings. Luis Diaz led off the sixth with a double and stole third. A Yeiner Fernandez RBI groundout scooted him home. Luis Diaz further extended the lead in the eighth, with two outs and two on blasting a ball over the left-field fence to make it 5-0.

Game five of the six-game series is tomorrow Saturday, June 10th, 2023. It is Star Wars Night and the first Fireworks Loontaclar presented by Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the 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.