From the Box Score:
TinCaps Drop Rubber Match, 5-4
In front of the third-largest crowd in the history of Parkview Field, the Fort Wayne TinCaps were defeated 5-4 by the Lansing Lugnuts on Thursday night. A crowd of 8,531 saw Fort Wayne lead 4-2 into the eighth inning, until a Kevin Patterson three-run home run gave Lansing the lead for good. With the loss, the TinCaps were eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs in the first half.
Fort Wayne (31-36) fell behind 1-0 in the second inning, when K.C. Hobson hit an RBI double off of TinCaps starter Colin Rea. Rea worked six innings, walking none and striking out a career-high eight batters.The TinCaps responded with a run in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single from Yeison Asencio. He finished the game with three hits in five at bats, and two runs batted in. Lansing (46-20) yielded three more runs to the TinCaps in the fifth inning, making it a 4-1 score in favor of Fort Wayne.
Johnny Barbato worked the seventh inning for the TinCaps, and allowed one run on an RBI single from Shane Opitz. Fort Wayne carried the 4-2 lead into the eighth inning. Chris Haney (0-2), then pitching for the TinCaps, allowed a one-out single to Andy Burns and a two-out single to K.C. Hobson. That drew Kevin Patterson to the plate, and he delivered for Lansing, serving a three-run home run over the wall in center field. The Lugnuts would hold that 5-4 lead for the remainder of the game.
Kramer Champlin (3-1) earned the win in relief for Lansing, and Ajay Meyer, who tossed two perfect innings, notched his league-leading 20th save.
The TinCaps finish the first half on the road against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. First pitch of Friday’s game is scheduled for 8:05 PM. The scheduled starters are Matt Wisler for Fort Wayne and Parker Markel for Bowling Green.
TinCaps website