Loons Pitchers Outduel Lake County in Series Opener

MIDLAND, Mich. – In the first eight contests for the Great Lakes Loons this season, they scored the first runs of the game. In six of those games, they were later outscored and ended up with the loss.

On Tuesday night at Dow Diamond in Midland, Mich., a different story.

Great Lakes held the Lake County Captains to just one run over nine innings, and the three runs it scored in the second inning proved to be enough as the Loons snap a five-game losing streak, 3-1.

All of the Loons’ (3-7) runs came in the bottom of the second inning, and they had no baserunners in the inning with two outs. Imanol Vargas knocked a double, then Kekai Rios reached on a fielding error by Captains’ starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (L, 0-1). On the same play, Bibee made a throwing error as well, allowing Vargas to score from second and put Rios on second. The next batter, Aldrich De Jongh, smacked his first home run of the young season, a line drive shot over the right field wall, to give the Loons a 3-0 lead. All three runs were unearned against Bibee due to the errors in the inning.

That turned out to be all they needed. Lake County (4-6) scored one run in the fourth inning, but the fact that the Loons held them to just one in the frame is remarkable, because the Captains loaded the bases with nobody out in the frame. Great Lakes reliever Aldry Acosta coaxed Korey Holland to ground into a double play, scoring the run but making a much easier situation for Acosta. He got a popout to end the inning.

The other Loons pitchers all shut out Lake County. Great Lakes right-handed starter Kyle Hurt allowed just two hits and one walk in his three innings of work, striking out five Captains along the way. After Acosta, southpaw Jacob Cantleberry (W, 1-0) came in and allowed the first two batters he faced to reach on a single and a walk. After that, he erased one baserunner on a ground ball fielders’ choice, another on a successful pickoff, and struck out the final batter of the frame. His final line read one hit, one walk and one strikeout in his one inning of work.

Great Lakes, the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, did not allow a hit after the fifth inning. Loons righty Ryan Sublette began the sixth frame and walked the leadoff man in the inning before the Loons turned their second 4-6-3 double play of the night. Sublette, the Texas Tech alum, struck out two and walked just the single batter in his two complete innings of work, including a perfect seventh inning.

Right-handed reliever Jordan Leasure then began the eighth inning for Great Lakes, and recorded the final six outs of the contest without surrendering a hit. He did allow a pair of walks, but five of the six outs he recorded were via the punchout. The Loons struck out 70 batters last week in Peoria, the third-best mark in the Midwest League over that span, and they begin this week of games with 13 strikeouts in the opener.

There was offense for the Loons outside of the three-run second, though Great Lakes would not add to their run total. The Loons collected seven hits, including a multi-hit game from Edwin Mateo. Six of those hits went for extra bases: five doubles, from Vargas, Mateo, Rios, Jorbit Vivas and Eddys Leonard, as well as the De Jongh homer. The Loons got the benefit of just one walk in the game, as part of an effective night from Lake County pitching.

The Captains, partners of the Cleveland Guardians, are in Midland all week long, playing every day until Sunday. This was game one of a six-game series, which continues Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m. The Loons will throw right-hander Cole Percival (0-0, 3.86 ERA), facing off against Lake County’s righty Aaron Davenport (0-1, 4.50 ERA). Tickets are still available on loons.com for the contest, which is the first Paws and Claws night of the season, presented by White Claw. Enjoy 50% off White Claws at Dow Diamond all night long, and bring your dog to the ballpark. Pregame coverage begins at 5:50 p.m. with the Loons On-Deck Circle driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland.

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.