Trailing by a run and down to their final out in the ninth inning, the ‘Caps rallied to beat the Lake County Captains, 10-7, on Monday evening at Classic Auto Group Park.
Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:
Rally ‘Caps Win, Move Above .500
Eastlake, Ohio (July 3, 2023) – The TinCaps have a winning record for the first time in more than a year. Trailing by a run and down to their final out in the ninth inning, the ‘Caps rallied to beat the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Guardians affiliate), 10-7, on Monday evening at Classic Auto Group Park.
Captains second baseman Nate Furman committed a throwing error after fielding a ground ball hit by Jakob Marsee (No. 22 Padres prospect) that allowed Nerwilian Cedeño (No. 12 Padres prospect) to score from third base and tie the game, 7-7. The next batter, Marcos Castañon, then powered a go-ahead three-run home run to right-center field that proved to be the game-winning swing.
Fort Wayne (6-3, 38-37) last had a winning record of 11-10 entering May 3 of last year. This is the first time the TinCaps have had a winning record this late in the season since entering July 7, 2018, with a 43-42 mark.
Fort Wayne began this season 0-5 and hit a low-water mark of 10-22. The TinCaps have gone 28-15 since May 14 and are 5-0-2 over their last seven series.
The ‘Caps claimed four of six in this set with the Captains, with two of the wins coming despite trailing and down to their last out. They similarly benefited from an Albert Fabian go-ahead grand slam when down, 2-0, on Friday night in the seventh inning of a doubleheader game. Monday was the first time this year the TinCaps won a game when trailing through eight innings.
The TinCaps are tied with the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds affiliate) for first place in the Midwest League’s East Division second half standings. The 66-game second half runs through Sept. 10.
The Captains (2-7, 33-41) came from behind themselves in the bottom of the eighth inning. Behind 6-2, Lake County erupted for five runs, highlighted by a Dayan Frías (No. 29 Guardians prospect) go-ahead grand slam.
It was a back-and-forth game that featured multiple ties and lead changes.
In a foreshadowing of what was to come later, Fort Wayne originally took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a throwing error by third baseman Christian Cairo.
Lake County took the lead, 2-1, in the fourth as right fielder Chase DeLauter (No. 6 Guardians prospect) hit a two-run homer. However, those were the only runs the Captains scored against starting pitcher Victor Lizarraga (No. 7 Padres prospect), who went a season-long six innings, striking out five.
Meanwhile, the TinCaps leveled the score, 2-2, in the fifth as designated hitter Lukas Dunn clubbed his sixth home run of the season to center field. It was his fourth homer at Lake County in 12 games there this year. Counting last season, Dunn has hit 10 homers as a TinCap. They’ve all come on the road.
The Summit City’s squad retook the lead with a pair in the seventh and added insurance with two more in the eighth. The seventh included a sacrifice fly from Cedeño, who was playing in his first game with the team since suffering an injury on April 12. Also in that frame, catcher Colton Bender delivered an RBI single that made it 4-2. In the eighth, Castañon, the third baseman, knocked an RBI double and first baseman Nathan Martorella (No. 23 Padres prospect) hit an RBI single.
Cedeño sparked the ninth-inning comeback with a leadoff single, while shortstop Jackson Merrill (No. 1 Padres prospect) drew a two-out walk to extend the game for Marsee.
Will Geerdes pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth inning to earn his second save in as many opportunities since being promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore last Tuesday.
After 12 consecutive road games, the TinCaps welcome the Detroit Tigers-affiliated West Michigan Whitecaps to Parkivew Field on Tuesday night. A sell-out crowd of more than 8,000 fans is expected for Independence Day.
Next Game: Tuesday, July 4 vs. West Michigan (6:05 p.m.)
- TinCaps Probable Starter: RHP Jairo Iriarte (No. 11 Padres prospect)
- Whitecaps Probable Starter: RHP Williander Moreno
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