Lugnuts win 1-hour, 54-minute gem, 1-0

LANSING, Mich. - First pitch was thrown at 6:07 p.m. By 8:01, it was over.

Otto Lopez smacked an RBI single through a drawn-in infield in the sixth inning and Cobi Johnson and Fitz Stadler combined on a three-hit shutout, speeding the Lansing Lugnuts (3-2) past the West Michigan Whitecaps (2-3), 1-0, on Monday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The one-hour, 54-minute win was the quickest nine-inning game that the Nuts had played since a 1-0 victory over Peoria in an hour and 53 minutes on July 10, 2013.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Reggie Pruitt singled to left field off Whitecaps reliever Xavier Javier (Loss, 0-1). Javier attempted to pick off the speedster, but his throw went awry and carried into the Lugnuts bullpen as Pruitt darted to third. Lopez followed with a smash up the middle that skipped through the legs of leaping bases umpire Ray Patchen into center field, sending Pruitt jogging home.

The rest of the night belonged to the pitchers.

Johnson, an All-Star closer in 2018 with Vancouver making his first professional start,  needed only 48 pitches - 35 for strikes - to blank the Whitecaps over five innings, striking out five and allowing only two base runners, both on singles.

Stadler (Win, 1-0) took over from there, working clean sixth, eighth and ninth innings and escaping a seventh-inning two-on, one-out threat by coaxing a 5-4-3 double play.

West Michigan starter Garrett Hill was equally in command, striking out seven Lugnuts from the first through the fifth innings and allowing only a Lopez first-inning single and a Jordan Groshans fourth-inning single.

Lansing finished with eight hits in all, two apiece by Pruitt and Lopez.

Gates open at 5:00 p.m. for the second game of the four-game series… on a Taco Tuesday featuring $2 tacos! Lugnuts Opening Night starter Josh Winckowski (0.00 ERA) makes his second start of the year, battling West Michigan left-hander Kacey Murphy. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.
 
To purchase tickets and live the Lug Life at Cooley Law School Stadium, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
 
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