Errors Burn ‘Caps in Defeat
DAYTON, OH — The West Michigan Whitecaps defensive struggles played a large role as part of an 8-5 loss to the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,958 fans Friday night at Day Air Ballpark. The Whitecaps, who came into play Friday with the second-lowest fielding percentage in the Midwest League,
DAYTON, OH — The West Michigan Whitecaps defensive struggles played a large role as part of an 8-5 loss to the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,958 fans Friday night at Day Air Ballpark.
The Whitecaps, who came into play Friday with the second-lowest fielding percentage in the Midwest League, committed four errors that led to most of the Dragons runs on Friday.
The contest began with a 15-minute weather delay, but once the action started, Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Rhett Lowder dominated, retiring 11 consecutive ‘Caps hitters while striking out six. It wasn’t until a Luke Gold single in the fourth inning that the Whitecaps found their first base runner. In the third, a throwing error led to a two-run single by Hector Rodriguez before Cam Collier collected a run-scoring double to highlight a three-run inning and give the Dragons a 3-0 lead. Logan Tanner chipped in with an RBI-double of his own in the fourth before the ’Caps began to climb back in the contest. Outfielder Roberto Campos blasted his first home run of the season to lead off the fifth, and Cole Turney launched his second homer of the year – a two-run shot – in the sixth to bring the ‘Caps deficit to 4-3. In the bottom of the frame, the ‘Caps committed their third error of the contest that led to a Dragons run, extending the Dayton lead to 5-3. In the seventh, another error, this time on catcher interference and a controversial call on the bases, led to two more Dayton runs, extending the edge to 7-3. The disputed call led to the ejection of Whitecaps manager Tony Cappuccilli, his second of the season. In the eighth, the ‘Caps staged a two-out rally with RBI-singles from Roberto Campos – his third hit of the game – and Izaac Pacheco to bring the score to 7-5, but Sal Stewart plated a Dayton insurance run with a sacrifice fly to put the contest out of reach from the ‘Caps at 8-5, concluding the scoring in the contest and evening the series at two wins apiece.
The Whitecaps drop to 10-15, while the Dragons improve to 11-14. Dragons starter Rhett Lowder (2-0), the defending Midwest League Player of the Week, gave up three runs in six innings while striking out nine in recording his second win of the season, while ‘Caps starter Carlos Marcano (0-3) gave up four runs in 4.1 innings in taking his third loss. Dragons reliever John Murphy tossed a perfect ninth in collecting his third save. Campos continued his hot hitting by finishing a double short of hitting for the cycle and has notched seven hits in his three games of the series. Meanwhile, ‘Caps pitchers suffered a costly trend on Friday, walking five Dragons hitters -- all of whom led off Dayton innings at the plate – and three of which came around to score.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series at Day Air Ballpark against the Dayton Dragons on Saturday at 7:05 pm. The Whitecaps send pitcher Garrett Burhenn to the mound against Dayton’s Jared Lyons. Don’t miss the action; tune into broadcast coverage with Nate Wangler on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Get tickets for all 2024 home contests or listen to games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.