LANSING, Mich. - D.J. Neal sizzled a two-out go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning, Reggie Pruitt followed with a two-run triple, and the Lansing Lugnuts (3-2, 35-39) handed the Lake County Captains (4-1, 44-30) their first loss of the second half, 6-4, on Tuesday night at
LANSING, Mich. - D.J. Neal sizzled a two-out go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning, Reggie Pruitt followed with a two-run triple, and the Lansing Lugnuts (3-2, 35-39) handed the Lake County Captains (4-1, 44-30) their first loss of the second half, 6-4, on Tuesday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
The game featured two separate rain delays due to two pop-up showers: a 36-minute delay before first pitch and a 51-minute delay in the middle of the fourth inning.
Lake County built two one-run leads, first grabbing 2-1 advantage in the third inning on a Ruben Cardenas two-run double - erased by a run-scoring throwing error by third baseman Henry Pujols in the fifth - and then taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a Jonathan Engelmann RBI double.
But in the bottom of the sixth inning, Gabriel Moreno led off with a triple against Captains reliever Luis Araujo (Blown Save, 1; Loss, 1-2). After Ryan Gold grounded out and Jake Brodt popped out, LJ Talley coaxed a five-pitch walk and Johnny Aiello was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That brought up Neal who stung a grounder past first baseman Engelmann, bringing in Moreno and Talley for a 4-3 Lugnuts lead. Pruitt followed with a drive to deep right-center, picking up his league-leading eighth triple of the year while plating both Aiello and Neal for a 6-3 cushion.
The insurance runs proved valuable when Bo Naylor's fifth home run of the season brought the Captains within two in the ninth - but the visitors could get no closer.
Lansing starter Sean Wymer allowed two runs on six hits in four innings, striking out four, departing after the rain delay. Marcus Reyes (Win, 3-1) followed with three innings, allowing three hits, one walk and one run, and striking out two.
Mike Pascoe recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning, walking two and hitting a batter to load the bases. Cre Finfrock (Save, 7) recorded the final five outs, escaping the eighth-inning jam unscathed before allowing Naylor's homer in the ninth.
The Nuts finished the game with 11 hits, with two apiece supplied by Neal, Brodt (who hit his ninth home run of the season in the second inning), Gold and Otto Lopez , who went 2-for-4 with a walk and a steal to extend his team-high on-base streak to 26 games.
The Lugnuts and Captains play the second game of their four-game series at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday, a Summer Fun Day and Dog Days of Summer. Lugnuts right-hander Troy Watson (5.14 ERA) faces Captains right-hander Thomas Ponticelli (5.58). To live the Lug Life and purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com, call (517) 485-4500 or come to the Cooley Law School Stadium box office at 505 E. Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing.
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