‘Caps Drop First Second-Half Series
BELOIT, WI – The West Michigan Whitecaps watched a four-run fourth inning against pitcher Carlos Guzman lead to an 8-2 loss to the Beloit Sky Carp on Saturday night in front of 2,418 fans at ABC Supply Stadium. The loss gives Beloit wins in four of the first five games
BELOIT, WI – The West Michigan Whitecaps watched a four-run fourth inning against pitcher Carlos Guzman lead to an 8-2 loss to the Beloit Sky Carp on Saturday night in front of 2,418 fans at ABC Supply Stadium.
The loss gives Beloit wins in four of the first five games of this series, dealing the ‘Caps its first loss in a series during the 2022 second half. The loss, coupled with a Lake County Captains win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps, has erased West Michigan’s lead in the Midwest League Eastern Division second-half race, leaving the two teams tied in the standings with Sunday still to play. Next week, the Whitecaps and Captains open a six-game series beginning Tuesday night at LMCU Ballpark.
The Sky Carp became the first team in this series to win a game when scoring its first run, as the Sky Carp plated a run on a force out from Federico Polanco to take a 1-0 lead after two innings. The game began with pitcher Matt Walker serving as an opener – tossing two innings before righty Ted Stuka completed a scoreless third. In the fourth, Carlos Guzman, Saturday’s initially scheduled starting pitcher, entered and never finished the inning, giving up four runs in the frame before being removed after reaching a pitch count limit. A two-run single by Jose Salas highlighted the four-run fourth. Two more runs crossed the plate for the Sky Carp in the fifth, as Kyler Castillo’s run-scoring single highlighted another big inning for Beloit. West Michigan got its only two scores on RBI-groundouts in the sixth by Austin Murr and Trei Cruz. Beloit tallied a run in the sixth to conclude the scoring in the contest.
The Whitecaps record falls to 57-50 and 26-15 in the second half. The Sky Carp elevate to 23-18 and 54-52 overall. Dax Fulton (5-6) tossed five scoreless frames while striking out four in collecting his fifth win of the season, while lefty Matt Walker (0-2) gave up just one run in the first two innings of the contest to suffer his second loss. Third baseman Jose King led West Michigan with its only multi-hit game and turned an unassisted double play in the loss. The Whitecaps have lost five of their last six games for the first time since early May.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Beloit Sky Carp conclude this six-game series from ABC Supply Stadium with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 pm. Righty Keider Montero gets the start for West Michigan against lefty Luis Palacios for Beloit. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:45 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.