Game recap from the TinCaps:
TinCaps Overcome Five-Run Deficit, Walk Off
(June 24, 2014) – The TinCaps weren’t supposed to win on Tuesday night at Parkview Field. They trailed by as many as five runs. They committed four errors leading to four unearned runs. They even had two baserunners thrown out between third base and home plate. But somehow, someway, Fort Wayne did win Tuesday night — 10-9 over the Dayton Dragons.
Dustin Peterson plated Ryan Miller for the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the TinCaps their sixth walk-off win of the season. For Peterson, the Midwest League’s leader in runs batted in, it was his 59th RBI of the year, and second walk-off single. He also led Fort Wayne to a comeback win against the Peoria Chiefs with a walk-off base-hit on April 17.
Peterson’s heroics were made possible by a complete team effort. The TinCaps racked up 18 hits — coming from eight different spots in the lineup. In fact, six players had multi-hit games, including Peterson, who led the way with four. Fort Wayne trailed, 9-7, entering the ninth, but that deficit was quickly trimmed to one run when Jake Bauers led off with a home run to right field against Alejandro Chacin (4-2).
Adolfo Reina and Ryan Miller, who hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season in the second inning, followed Bauer’s blast with back-to-back singles. Henry Charles sacrifice bunted Reina to third base and Miller to second, leading the Dragons to intentionally walk River Stevens to load the bases. Zack Weiss then replaced Chacin on the mound and proceeded to walk Ronnie Richardson on four pitches to bring home Reina to tie the game, 9-9.
Tuesday’s turnaround marked the fourth time this season the TinCaps have rallied from five runs down to win in a game in 2014. And it certainly took some time to accomplish the comeback. The game lasted 3 hours, 47 minutes, making it the longest nine-inning game of the season by 21 minutes. While not quite as extreme as the rain forest of Brazil, Downtown Fort Wayne was muggy, too. The temperature at first pitch was 73 degrees, but it was far from comfortable with 90-percent humidity.
Dayton (1-4, 37-36) led 4-3 after three, 7-3 through four, and 8-3 at the end of six. Fort Wayne (3-2, 33-41) began its surge with a three-run seventh and added another in the eighth.
Jorge Guzman (1-0) received credit for the win out of the bullpen. He was one of four TinCaps pitchers used. Fort Wayne has now won four in a row against Dayton – the last two coming in the bottom of the ninth.
Some 13 hours after the celebration of Peterson’s walk-off hit, the TinCaps and Dragons are scheduled to play the middle game of their series at Parkview Field on Wednesday afternoon at 12:05. Erik Cabrera is slated to start for Fort Wayne against Dayton’s Sal Romano. The game can be seen on XFINITY Channel 81 and heard on ESPN Radio 1380, TheFanIndiana.com, and the TuneIn Radio app.
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