Big Inning Dooms ‘Caps in 8-5 Loss
COMSTOCK PARK, MI —For the second time in three games, the West Michigan Whitecaps bullpen struggled to hold the lead in an 8-5 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,789 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark. Despite totaling ten base hits, the Caps finished just 2-for-9 with runners
COMSTOCK PARK, MI —For the second time in three games, the West Michigan Whitecaps bullpen struggled to hold the lead in an 8-5 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,789 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.
Despite totaling ten base hits, the Caps finished just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and the pitching staff surrendered five runs in the eighth inning en route to the loss.
The Whitecaps grabbed the lead in the second inning as outfielder Patrick Lee scored Luis Santana on an RBI single before Max Anderson added his eighth homer of the year in the third inning – a two-run homer that struck off the side of the video board – delivering West Michigan the 3-0 advantage. The ‘Nuts began mounting their rally in the fourth as designated hitter Cameron Masterman collected an RBI double before the Lugs struck for individual tallies in the sixth and seventh innings, as outfielder Danny Bautista followed an RBI double by Will Simpson with a fielder’s choice groundout, leveling the game at 3-3. The ‘Nuts then exploded for five runs in the eighth – highlighted by a two-run double by Bautista and a two-run homer by Simpson – taking a commanding 8-3 lead. The ‘Caps responded with a pair in the bottom half on a two-run double by Josh Crouch, but it was too late, as Lansing reliever Mitch Myers retired the ‘Caps in the ninth to send West Michigan to the 8-5 loss.
The Lugnuts improve to 14-14 in the second half and 46-47 overall, while the Whitecaps fall to 13-14 in the second half and 44-49 overall. Myers (6-4) picks up his sixth win of the year, allowing two unearned runs through four innings pitched, while Whitecaps reliever Jack Anderson (2-1) suffers his first loss, giving five runs through just 1.1 innings on the mound. The eighth inning has been a sore spot for the ‘Caps bullpen in this series, allowing a combined nine runs in the eighth through the first four games of this series.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the penultimate game of this six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts from LMCU Ballpark Saturday night at 7:05 pm. Lefty Joe Miller takes the mound for West Michigan faces off against fellow southpaw Will Johnston for the Lugnuts. Tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids to catch all the action. Don’t miss out on the excitement; get your tickets for all 2024 home contests, or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.