Triple Play, Four-Run Ninth Not Enough for Great Lakes

MIDLAND, Mich. – In the ninth inning Friday night at Dow Diamond, the Great Lakes Loons put on quite the show. In the top of the frame, they turned their first triple play in a decade. In the bottom half, they plated four runs on four hits.

The bad news? They trailed by six going into the ninth.

Despite their best late efforts, the Loons couldn’t complete the comeback, and they fall to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, 7-5.

The TinCaps (19-30) got out to a lead in the very first inning. After a leadoff walk, Matthew Acosta had an RBI double in the first inning for the second night in a row.

Fort Wayne, the High-A partner of the San Diego Padres, extended their lead in the fourth inning. After an error, a hit batsman and a single, Acosta drove in another run with a sacrifice fly. The next batter, Brandon Valenzuela, smacked a three-run homer over the right-field wall to put the TinCaps ahead, 5-0.

All of that damage was done against Loons starter Nick Nastrini (0-2). The former UCLA Bruin tossed four innings, allowed four hits, a walk, and five runs (four earned). Nastrini punched out five batters in his four innings.

The Loons (27-22) scored for the first time in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ryan January walked to lead off the inning, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. That was the first instance of the night where the Loons had a runner in scoring position. Ismael Alcantara took advantage, touching a single into center field to give the Loons a run. They trailed at that point, 5-1.

But the TinCaps weren’t done scoring. They got a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to pad their advantage to 7-1.

At the same time, Great Lakes couldn’t fight back. Brandon Komar (W, 1-2) was excellent in relief, eliciting a double play to end the fifth inning before pitching the sixth and the seventh. His final line read 2 2-3 innings of one-hit baseball, one walk, two strikeouts, no runs allowed.

The Loons, High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, had some late-game excitement in them. Adam Scoggins came out to pitch the ninth inning, and walked the first two batters he faced. After that, Acosta singled to center, where Alcantara fielded and threw to Eddys Leonard, covering second. Jarryd Dale had run past the bag, and Leonard chased him toward third base and tagged him out near the bag. Ripken Reyes had been standing on third, but took off for home – Leonard threw to January to record the second out of the play. January noticed Acosta stuck between second and third, and threw to Max Hewitt at second base. Acosta took off for third, Hewitt tossed to Jorbit Vivas at the third base bag, Vivas chased Acosta back toward second and flipped to Alcantara covering the bag, who applied the final tag of the triple play. When it was all said and done, it was a single followed by an unconventional 8-6-2-4-5-8 triple play.

The excitement continued to the bottom of the ninth. Alex De Jesus and Imanol Vargas led off the frame with a pair of singles, and after an out, Alcantara was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded and one out, Edwin Mateo drove in two with a single, then Max Hewitt drove in another with a double, his first RBI and extra-base hit of his professional career. That spelled the end of the day for Ramon Perez, who had tossed a perfect eighth inning before that. Luke Boyd (SV, 3) came in and allowed a Jose Ramos RBI groundout before recording the final out on a lazy fly to left. The Loons put up a fight, but eventually fall, 7-5.

The Loons and TinCaps are now even in the series at two games apiece, with two games to go. Saturday’s contest at Dow Diamond begins at 7:05 p.m. Fort Wayne southpaw Jackson Wolf (2-3, 3.77 ERA) will take the hill, opposing Loons right-hander Emmet Sheehan (0-1, 7.88 ERA). Pregame coverage begins on ESPN 100.9-FM at 5:50 p.m. with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland. It’s Star Wars Night at Dow Diamond – stop by to meet your favorite characters from a galaxy far, far away. After the game, stick around for a Fireworks Loontacular, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan. Tickets are still available on Loons.com.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.