‘Caps Come Up Just Short, 4-3
COMSTOCK PARK, MI — The West Michigan Whitecaps put the potential game-winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning but couldn’t find the break they needed, falling to the Lake County Captains 4-3 in front of 8,325 fans Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark. The Whitecaps –
COMSTOCK PARK, MI — The West Michigan Whitecaps put the potential game-winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning but couldn’t find the break they needed, falling to the Lake County Captains 4-3 in front of 8,325 fans Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark.
The Whitecaps – who put 12 runners on base while only amassing two base hits in the ballgame – loaded the bases down one run in the ninth but couldn’t complete the job, as a game-ending strikeout spoiled the ‘Caps comeback effort.
Lake County grabbed the lead in the second inning as outfielder Jonah Advincula added a two-run single before infielder Jose Devers plated Ralphy Velazquez on an RBI double in the third inning, taking the quick 3-0 lead. West Michigan responded in the bottom half of the third on an RBI single from Roberto Campos, trimming the Lake County advantage to 3-1. Whitecaps reliever Jack Anderson took over in the fourth inning. He was untouchable, retiring all nine batters he faced while adding four punchouts, but the ‘Caps offense failed to respond, as Captains reliever Zach Jacobs posted 4.1 scoreless frames to maintain the 3-1 Lake County lead. Meanwhile, in the seventh, Captains shortstop Angel Genao followed a pair of infield singles with a sacrifice fly, increasing their lead to 4-1.
In the bottom of the ninth, ‘Caps catcher Josh Crouch lined an RBI single into right field before John Peck crossed the plate on a wild pitch, trimming the Captains lead to 4-3. With first base open, the Captains intentionally walked Max Clark, loading the bases with two outs before closer Josh Harlow ended the frame with a punchout, ending the Whitecaps rally and sending them to the 4-3 loss.
The Captains improve to 27-24 in the second half and 68-49 overall, while the Whitecaps fall to 29-23 in the second half and 60-58 overall. Jacobs (6-3) picks up his sixth win of the year while Harlow secures his first save. Whitecaps starting pitcher Joe Miller (3-4) suffers his fourth loss, allowing three runs on seven hits through three innings. The Whitecaps sit 4.5 games behind the Dayton Dragons for first place in the Midwest League East standings with 13 games remaining. Meanwhile, Campos finished the game 1-for-4 with an RBI and is now tied with Seth Stephenson and Crouch for the longest hitting streak by any Whitecaps player this season at 11 games.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps wrap up this six-game series against the Lake County Captains on Sunday at 2:00 pm. Pitchers Carlos Marcano and Dylan DeLucia are the scheduled pitchers. Tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler on the Whitecaps Baseball Network beginning at 1:45 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 tickets for all remaining 2024 home contests, or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.