Nuts deep-six Captains on 517 Day
LANSING, Mich. – With two outs in the last of the third inning, seven consecutive Lansing Lugnuts hit safely and the entire nine-man starting lineup reached base in a pivotal six-run rally that lifted the Lugnuts (19-18) to an 8-4 victory over the Lake County Captains (21-16) in front of
LANSING, Mich. – With two outs in the last of the third inning, seven consecutive Lansing Lugnuts hit safely and the entire nine-man starting lineup reached base in a pivotal six-run rally that lifted the Lugnuts (19-18) to an 8-4 victory over the Lake County Captains (21-16) in front of a Friday night crowd of 6,341 at Jackson® Field™.
The Lugnuts rose above the .500 mark for the first time since the first day of the season.
Tonight's game was decided by a lovely stretch in the third inning when the full starting lineup reached base, one after another. pic.twitter.com/6vy9lWAkf9
— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) May 18, 2024
Lansing has won six of its past seven games and three of the first four in the six-game series with division-leading Lake County; the Captains are 18-8 against the rest of the Midwest League, but just 3-7 vs. the Lugnuts.
With the score tied 1-1 in the third inning, Caps starter Austin Peterson retired the top two hitters in the Nuts’ order, Colby Halter and Henry Bolte, on a lineout and a groundout. Then, the deluge: Euribiel Ángeles bunted a single; Brayan Buelvas doubled in Ángeles, Danny Bautista, Jr. singled in Buelvas and stole second; Dereck Salom singled in Bautista, Jr.; Cameron Masterman singled; Carlos Amaya doubled in Salom; and Jose Escorche singled in Masterman for a 6-1 lead.
That spelled the end for Peterson, though reliever Alaska Abney walked both Halter and Bolte to force in another run before ending the inning with a flyout from Ángeles.
Three innings later, Bolte drew a second walk, stole second and Ángeles singled him in to finish off the Lansing scoring.
Lansing starter Luis Morales worked 2 2/3 innings, allowing a leadoff home run to Nate Furman but nothing further. Jack Owen recorded the final out of the third inning before Luis Carrasco fired four innings in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Hunter Breault handled the final two innings to polish it off, facing the minimum and striking out one.
Right fielder Bolte finished 0-for-3 with two walks, halting his seven-game hitting streak. Left fielder Masterman, conversely, went 1-for-4 with a single to extend his on-base streak to 17 games. Center fielder Buelvas added a single, double, triple and an HBP in five trips.
On Saturday, the Lugnuts will partner with UM Health-Sparrow for Kids Night, featuring a kid-designed uniform and Sparrow kids taking over the ballpark from P.A. announcing to broadcasting to marketing and in-game entertainment. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. start. For tickets and further information, visit milb.com/lansing or call (517) 485-4500.
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