A sellout crowd of 7,676 fans came out to Parkview Field Friday night, but the TinCaps lost to the Dayton Dragons, 6-5.
Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:
Homers Not Enough in 1-Run Loss
Fort Wayne, Indiana (August 17, 2024) – A sellout crowd of 7,676 fans came out to Parkview Field Friday night, but the TinCaps lost to the Dayton Dragons (Reds affiliate), 6-5.
Fort Wayne (17-29, 45-67) trailed 6-1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Then suddenly after center fielder Kai Murphy had walked, with two outs, catcher Ethan Salas (No. 1 Padres prospect) doubled, and right fielder Joshua Mears mashed a 435-foot home run to left-center. For Mears, who also singled in the game, he not only extended his on-base streak to a season-long nine games, he also socked his 10th High-A homer of the year, and the 33rd of his Fort Wayne career. He’s only one back of Jacob Patterson for the most in franchise history.
The ‘Caps got even closer in the ninth as designated hitter Ethan Long launched a leadoff solo homer to make it a one-run game. However, Dayton (28-18, 62-50) held on from there. The Dragons lead the Midwest League East Division’s second-half standings.
The TinCaps are 13-23 in one-run games. Out of Minor League Baseball’s 120 clubs, they have the third most one-run losses.
This game was scoreless through five innings. Then after the Dragons struck first in the top of the sixth, the ‘Caps answered with third baseman Luis Verdugo (No. 17 Padres prospect) doubling in first baseman Addison Kopack.
Dayton built its lead with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.
Enmanuel Pinales started for Fort Wayne, going five scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
Salas extended his on-base streak to 10 games, while Verdugo has hit safely in five in a row. Long, who like Verdugo, just joined the team last week from Single-A Lake Elsinore, had a team-high three hits.
This was the 16th sellout of the season at Parkview Field.
Next Game: Saturday, Aug. 17 vs. Dayton (6:35pm)
- TinCaps Probable Starter: LHP Jagger Haynes (No. 21 Padres prospect)
- Dragons Probable Starter: RHP Mason Pelio
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