For the first time since 2005, Fort Wayne hit five home runs in a game as the TinCaps beat the Lake County Captains, 9-2, on Thursday night at Classic Auto Group Park.
Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:
Fort Wayne Hits 5 Homers in a Game for First Time Since 2005, Wins at Lake County
Fort Wayne, Indiana (June 29, 2023) – For the first time since 2005, Fort Wayne hit five home runs in a game as the TinCaps beat the Lake County Captains, 9-2, on Thursday night at Classic Auto Group Park. Just called up from the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm, TinCaps second baseman Graham Pauley (No. 30 Padres prospect) knocked two of Fort Wayne’s homers in his High-A debut as the TinCaps have won six of their last eight games and reached the .500 mark (35-35) for the first time this season. The ’Caps are 3-1 to start the second half standings.
The Fort Wayne Wizards last hit five home runs on Aug. 3, 2005 on the road against the Dayton Dragons. Fort Wayne’s franchise record for home runs in a game is six. That has occurred twice, and not since July 7, 2002, at Quad City. (The franchise rebranded from the Wizards to the TinCaps going into the 2009 season.)
Pauley, a Duke alum, also added a double and finished the game with five RBIs. He had the fourth two-homer game by a TinCap this season.
His three-run shot in the top of the first opened the scoring, driving in third baseman Marcos Castañon and first baseman Nathan Martorella (No. 23 Padres prospect) after each tallied two-out singles. Martorella had three hits and a walk on the night.Center fielder Jakob Marsee (No. 22 Padres prospect) joined the party, launching a solo homer in the top of the third to give Fort Wayne a 4-0 lead.
Lake County got a run back in the fourth, but then the TinCaps erupted for a four-run fifth, highlighted by back-to-back jacks by Pauley and left fielder Lucas Dunn. The TinCaps busted it open at that point, leading 8-1.
The Captains scored again in the bottom of the inning on a groundout, but that’s where the scoring would end for Lake County. Meanwhile, Castañon hopped on the homer train with a solo bomb in the top of the ninth, his ninth long ball of the season.
Fort Wayne’s starting pitcher Austin Krob, a left-hander who was called up along with Pauley and five other players from Single-A Lake Elsinore Tuesday, tossed five innings of two-run ball while striking out five. The TinCaps’ bullpen trio of José Geraldo, Aaron Holiday, and Alan Mundo combined for four shutout innings in relief.
Next Games: Friday, June 30 @ Lake County (5 p.m.) – Doubleheader
Game 1
- TinCaps Probable Starter: RHP Adam Mazur (No. 6 Padres prospect)
- TinCaps Probable Starter: LHP Bodi Rascon
Game 2
- Captains Probable Game 1 Starter: LHP Rodney Boone
- Captains Probable Game 2 Starter: LHP Steve Hajjar
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