Jobe Throws Four Innings in 10-3 Win
LANSING, MI – Jackson Jobe, who, moments before taking the mound on Saturday, become Major League Baseball’s top pitching prospect, tossed four innings without giving up an earned run while striking out three as part of a 10-3 West Michigan Whitecaps win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night in
LANSING, MI – Jackson Jobe, who, moments before taking the mound on Saturday, become Major League Baseball’s top pitching prospect, tossed four innings without giving up an earned run while striking out three as part of a 10-3 West Michigan Whitecaps win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night in front of 5,781 fans at Jackson Field.
Jobe, the Detroit Tigers top prospect, flashed a fastball that went up to 100 mph and a slider with a spin rate of over 3300 rpm as part of a Minor League Rehab Assignment while giving up a pair of unearned runs before the offense awoke in the later innings and bullpen stepped in as Erick Pinales, Gabe Sequeira, and Zack Hess combined to toss 4.1 scoreless frames as the ‘Caps won their sixth of eight second-half games.
Jobe became baseball’s highest-ranked pitching prospect when Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes went over 50 innings in his start against the Atlanta Braves earlier in the day, therefore extinguishing his prospect status, leaving Jobe as MLB’s top pitching prospect, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, among others.
The Lugnuts scored first in the opening frame when an RBI-triple by Henry Bolte plated Johnny Butler to highlight a two-run inning to put Lansing on-top. Luis Santana answered with an RBI-single in the third, and Danny Serretti tied the game with a run-scoring single of his own in the fourth. Later in the frame, Jim Jarvis laced a go-ahead RBI-triple to put West Michigan ahead, 3-2. In the fifth, Lansing executed a double steal to score Danny Bautista Jr. and tie the game at three. In the sixth, Dom Johnson’s go-ahead, two-run single pushed the ‘Caps back on top with a 5-3 lead before West Michigan tacked on two more in the seventh, highlighted by Serretti’s run-scoring single to extend the advantage to 7-3. In the ninth, Bennett Lee put the game out of reach with a bases-clearing, three-run double to end the scoring in the contest. The win gives the ‘Caps the guarantee of a series split and provides the team a chance to win the series with a victory on Sunday.
The Whitecaps move back to .500 at 37-37 and are now 6-2 in the second half, while the Lugnuts fall to 34-39 overall and 2-6 in the back half of 2024. Pinales (2-1) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in earning his second win of the season, while Lansing reliever Yehizon Sanchez (2-4) gave up two runs in 1.1 frames in taking his first loss. Serretti reached base in all five of his plate appearances as part of a three-hit night with three runs scored and two RBI, and outfielder Patrick Lee set a new ‘Caps season-record with four stolen bases – part of a season-high seven total swipes – in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps will wrap up this six-game series from Jackson Field against the Lansing Lugnuts on Sunday at 1:05 pm. Lefties Joe Miller and Will Johnston get the starts for the Whitecaps and Lugnuts. To catch all the action, tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Don’t miss out on the excitement; get your tickets for all 2024 home contests, or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.