Holton Homers in 8-4 Win
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied from an early three-run deficit as the bullpen dominated in an 8-4 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 6,074 fans Thursday night at LMCU Ballpark. West Michigan collected seven of their first eight runs in the first two
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied from an early three-run deficit as the bullpen dominated in an 8-4 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 6,074 fans Thursday night at LMCU Ballpark.
West Michigan collected seven of their first eight runs in the first two frames and finished 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Relievers Jack O'Loughlin, Jared Tobey, Hendry Nunez, and Andrew Magno combined to allow just one hit through 5.1 shutout innings.
TinCaps first baseman Cole Cummings opened the game with a two-run home run before Brandon Valenzuela roped an RBI double, putting Fort Wayne in front 3-0 through a half-inning. TinCaps starter Noel Vela recorded two outs as West Michigan scored four runs in the bottom half of the frame, highlighted by a three-run home run from Jake Holton, his tenth of the season, to take a 4-3 lead. Holton plated his fourth RBI in the second inning before Josh Crouch smacked a two-run single, extending the 'Caps lead to 7-3. Augustin Ruiz pounded an RBI double in the fourth inning, trimming the lead to 7-4, but the Whitecaps added an insurance tally on a sacrifice fly from Corey Joyce in the seventh, as the bullpen silenced Fort Wayne through the final three frames, slamming the door on an 8-4 win.
O'Loughlin (1-0) earns his first victory out of the bullpen, tossing 2.1 shutout innings as Vela (4-5) suffers his fifth loss. The Whitecaps had more hits in the first two innings (9) than in the 14-4 victory on Wednesday (6). The Whitecaps can tie their season's longest winning streak with a win on Friday. The Whitecaps improve to 35-37 and are just two games under .500 since they were 7-9 in late April, while the TinCaps fall to 28-44. Third baseman Trei Cruz enjoyed a three-hit performance with a run scored in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Fort Wayne TinCaps move this six-game series to a Friday night contest from LMCU Ballpark at 6:35 pm. Lefty Matt Walker fills in for the injured Dylan Smith to make a Whitecaps spot-start against Efrain Contreras for Fort Wayne. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.