TinCaps starter Henry Baez set the tone with six strikeouts and a sole run allowed in five innings against the Peoria Chiefs Friday.
Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:
TinCaps Tough One Out Over Peoria
By Brayden CarrollFort Wayne, Indiana (June 7, 2024) – TinCaps starter Henry Baez (No. 30 Padres prospect) set the tone with six strikeouts and a sole run allowed in five innings. Then the bullpen cleaned up the rest of the way en route to a 6-3 win over the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals affiliate) on Friday night at Parkview Field in front of 5,713 fans.
Peoria (19-35) starter Pete Hansen (No. 25 Cardinals prospect) found himself in a second-inning jam with the bases loaded, but escaped the traffic unscathed to silence the murmuring crowd. Hansen finished his start after three and a third innings pitched, giving up four hits and a lone run in his three-strikeout appearance.
Fort Wayne (23-31) found paydirt in the next inning behind a Tyler Robertson RBI single to draw first blood, 1-0. Things could’ve been worse for the visitors, but with two outs and runners at the corners, Hansen escaped the third thanks to a phenomenal catch on the mound off a 97-mph bullet belted by first baseman Anthony Vilar–Hansen’s second snag off the bump in the game.
The Chiefs scored a run in the fourth inning to tie the game.
But the Fort Wayne bats ignited in the fourth with three runs to re-take the lead. Right fielder Kai Murphy ripped an RBI single and designated hitter Jay Bashears contributed a two-run double.
Peoria responded in the sixth, as South Korea-native Won-Bin Cho (No. 9 Cardinals prospect) provided his second run-scoring single. Joshua Baez (No. 28 Cardinals prospect) added a sacrifice fly in the sixth as well to make it a one-run game at 4-3.
The game remained within one run into the eighth until Murphy relieved the Fort Wayne faithful’s anxiety with a rocket well beyond the right-field wall’s peak–a towering two-run homer to put any chance of a Peoria rally to rest.
After Cole Paplham (No. 17 Padres prospect) pitched two scoreless innings of relief, David Morgan struck out the side in order in the ninth for a save.
TinCaps catcher Ethan Salas (No. 1 Padres prospect) singled and, defensively, threw out two runners attemping to steal. The 18-year-old has caught 12 runners stealing on the season—sixth most in the High-A Midwest League.
Next Game: Saturday, June 8 vs. Peoria (6:35pm)
- TinCaps Probable Starter: RHP Dylan Lesko (No. 3 Padres prospect)
- Chiefs Probable Starter: RHP Hancel Rincon
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