Loons One-Hit by TinCaps, Handed First Loss of 2024

MIDLAND, Mich. – Five Fort Wayne TinCaps (1-2) pitchers held the Great Lakes Loons (2-1) offense to one hit, getting their first win of 2024 by the score of 2-0 on a sunny 54-degree Sunday afternoon at Dow Diamond.

Dylan Lesko, Jose Geraldo, Miguel Cienfuegos, Francis Pena, and Ryan Och held Great Lakes batters to one hit. Kyle Nevin laced a ball up the middle with one out in the bottom of the ninth off Och for a single. Lesko, the 20-year-old, 2023 first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres went four scoreless. Cienfuegos was the most dominant, with five strikeouts in two innings.

Great Lakes' best chance at scoring was the eighth, with a Luis Rodriguez and Jordan Thompson walk with two outs. Francis Pena, the TinCaps reliever, made a remarkable play, reaching down at his shoelaces to take a hard-hit ball off the bat of Noah Miller into out three.

Fort Wayne earned a run in the third and sixth inning. In the third, 17-year-old Ethan Salas singled, stole second, and was plated on a two-out double by Griffin Doesrching. Loons starter Peter Heubeck’s only permitted run, the 21-year-old worked out of walking the bases loaded with no outs in the first, with two strikeouts. He finished 3.2 innings, in his season debut.

Rounding Things Out

Kyle’s father Phil Nevin also broke up a no-hitter, against Randy Johnson. Nevin supplied an eighth-inning single on June 8th, 1997, one of two hits for the Detroit Tigers in a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Up Next

The Great Lakes Loons begin their first road series of the season, six games in Lansing, Michigan, against the Lugnuts starting Tuesday, April 9th. The first pitch at 6:05 p.m., with live coverage on Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt starting at 5:50 p.m.

The Loons' next home series is April 16th – April 21st against the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Detroit Tigers High-A affiliate. With no Monday game, Jackie Robinson Day will be commemorated on Tuesday at Dow Diamond.

The Great Lakes Loons have been 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 Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.