Malmö Oat Milkers’ Comeback Comes Up Short in 7-5 Loss to Cedar Rapids

Malmö scored the game’s final five runs across the eighth and ninth innings.

By Tyler Danburg

August 28, 2024

EASTLAKE, OH – The Malmö Oat Milkers (29-25, 70-50) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but fell short in a 7-5 loss versus the Cedar Rapids Kernels (26-29, 63-57) at Classic Auto Group Park. In the bottom of the ninth, Oat Milkers C Johnny Tincher and LF

EASTLAKE, OH – The Malmö Oat Milkers (29-25, 70-50) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but fell short in a 7-5 loss versus the Cedar Rapids Kernels (26-29, 63-57) at Classic Auto Group Park.

In the bottom of the ninth, Oat Milkers C Johnny Tincher and LF Isaiah Greene tallied RBI singles, while 2B Travis Bazzana, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 Cleveland and No. 13 overall prospect, plated Tincher on a fielder’s choice and throwing error.

With the tying run at the plate, Cedar Rapids LHP Rafael Marcano made Malmö SS Angel Genao, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Cleveland and No. 93 overall prospect, pop out into foul territory. Marcano finally struck out Oat Milkers DH Ralphy Velazquez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 Cleveland and No. 76 overall prospect, to grab the save.

Kernels RHP Ty Langenberg (5-2) earned the victory, pitching six shutout innings while fanning three and walking three. Malmö LHP Matt Wilkinson (4-5) garnered the loss, despite striking out five and allowing two runs in five innings.

Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 2-0 lead when LF Misael Urbina notched an RBI single in the top of the second and RF Gabriel Gonzalez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 Minnesota prospect, ripped an RBI single in the top of the third. In the top of the sixth, the Kernels scored five runs off an RBI single by CF Kyle Hess and a grand slam by C Matthew Clayton for his first High-A home run.

The Oat Milkers began their stretch of five unanswered runs in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, two-run home run by RF Wuilfredo Antunez. After hitting his first High-A homer in Tuesday night’s 5-2 victory, Antunez has homered in back-to-back contests.

The third game of this week’s scheduled six-game series between the Captains and Kernels is scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m. It will be Jewish Heritage Night at the ballpark, where Lake County will also host Dawg Day, for which the team will pay special tribute to Mutts.

The game will be broadcast on the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Notes to Know

- OF Wuilfredo Antunez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, extending his hitting streak to 11 games across Lake County (eight games) and Single-A Lynchburg (three games). During the streak, he is batting .439 (18-for-41) with five home runs and 15 RBI.

- LHP Matt Wilkinson struck out five batters and ranks second in Minor League Baseball with 169 strikeouts.

- C Johnny Tincher went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a hit-by-pitch, extending his on-base streak to 20 games, the longest by a Lake County player this season. During the streak, he is batting .241 with 14 hits, two doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, 15 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and a .429 on-base percentage.

- 1B Maick Collado went 2-for-4 with a run scored, picking up his 13th multi-hit game of the season.

The Lake County Captains are the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and have been a Class A Affiliate of Cleveland since the team was founded in 2003. To find out more information about the Captains or purchase tickets, visit CaptainsBaseball.com, or call (440) 975-8085.