Nine-run Loons sixth dooms Lugnuts, 10-1

LANSING, Mich. – Shane Selman’s third-inning solo home run supplied the Lansing Lugnuts’ (10-11) only run in a 10-1 loss to the Great Lakes Loons (10-11) on a windy, rainy Thursday night at Jackson® Field™.

The game was decided by a nine-run Loons sixth inning against Richard Guasch and Charles Hall, an inning featuring 13 batters, three walks, three errors (including a dropped sacrifice fly), one hit batter, a successful squeeze, and two hits – two-run singles by Ward and Leonel Valera off Hall to cap the rally. All of the runs were unearned.

Selman had answered Ryan Ward’s sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning with a solo home run in the bottom of the third, his third homer of the season and second home run in three days in the series, tying the game at 1-1.

As it turned out, Selman’s hit was the last Lugnuts hit of the game; the Nuts managed only a pair of ninth-inning walks for the rest of the night against Loons starter Jesús Vargas through the fifth and relievers Morgan Cooper and Ryley Widell in two innings apiece.

Lansing starter Seth Shuman worked 2 2/3 innings, striking out four while allowing one run on three hits and two walks. Guasch followed with 2 2/3 innings, giving up eight unearned runs on two hits and three walks, with three strikeouts. Hall then tossed 2 2/3 innings of his own, recording four strikeouts and setting down the final seven batters he faced.

Second baseman Ryan Gridley pitched a scoreless ninth, working around a two-out fielding error by third baseman Cobie Vance.

In the loss, center fielder Michael Guldberg increased his on-base streak to 16 games, going 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, and shortstop Max Schuemann extended his own streak to 15 games, going 0-for-3 with a walk in his final plate appearance..

Friday night is a Frontline Friday, honoring Greater Lansing’s essential workers, with right-hander Reid Birlingmair (2.40 ERA) facing Loons right-hander Clayton Beeter (2.08) at 7:05 p.m. To purchase tickets, please visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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