‘Caps Keep Hopes Alive in 11-2 Win
DAYTON, OH — The West Michigan Whitecaps crept closer in the race for the lone playoff spot in the Midwest League Eastern Division, as Detroit Tigers top prospect Max Clark tied a career-high with five RBI in an 11-2 win over the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday night in front of
DAYTON, OH — The West Michigan Whitecaps crept closer in the race for the lone playoff spot in the Midwest League Eastern Division, as Detroit Tigers top prospect Max Clark tied a career-high with five RBI in an 11-2 win over the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday night in front of 7,608 fans at Day Air Ballpark.
Clark, a Top-10 Prospect in Major League Baseball, delivered a three-run triple in the eighth inning as West Michigan delivered one of its biggest wins of the season. The victory trims the Whitecaps deficit to 4.5 games behind the Dragons with just 11 games to go – five of which come this week against Dayton.
The Dragons plated the game’s first run when Victor Acosta delivered an RBI single in the second inning, but Dayton’s lead was short-lived as the ‘Caps struck for three runs in the third. Clark’s run-scoring single highlighted a three-run frame and a lead that carried the rest of the way. With West Michigan hanging onto their two-run lead in the eighth, the ‘Caps mounted a two-out rally, loading the bases to set up Clark’s bases-clearing, three-run triple to alter the course of the contest and put the ballgame in the hands of the ‘Caps with a 6-1 lead. The big swing opened the floodgates as the Whitecaps scored five more times in the eighth and ninth innings. An RBI single by Thayron Liranzo and a run-scoring double by Roberto Campos tacked on runs in the eighth, while Clark added his fifth RBI with a single in the ninth alongside bases-loaded walks from Liranzo and Seth Stephenson as the ‘Caps scored eight runs over the final two frames in one of their most decisive wins of the season.
The Whitecaps jump to 30-24 in the second half and stay over .500 on the season at 61-59 overall. Whitecaps starter Joe Adametz (4-2) picks up his fourth win of the year for tossing five innings of one-run baseball, while the Dragons Ryan Cardona (8-5) suffers his fifth loss after giving up three runs in 4.2 innings on the mound. Every Whitecaps player recorded at least one base hit in the victory and were led by three hits from Peck and Clark, who reached base four times. The game was played in hot conditions, as Tuesday’s first pitch temperature registered at 93 degrees, one of the hottest recorded numbers of the season, as local temps reached the upper 90s before the contest.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series at Day Air Ballpark to face the Dayton Dragons on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. Righty Jaden Hamm, a Detroit Tigers Top-10 Prospect, makes the start on the mound. Tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network beginning at 7:00 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.