Captains outpitched by Lugnuts 5-2
BY TIM SHIRER
CAPTAINS BEAT WRITER
(EASTLAKE, OH) –The Lake County Captains and Lansing Lugnuts played game five of their six on Saturday night at Classic Park. The two teams split the first four games. The Lugnuts now have the advantage in the series as they took home the win 5-3 in front of the disappointed 3,249 fans in attendance.
Once again, the Lugnuts got on the board first in the first inning with a single run and kept the momentum going in the second inning with two more runs off Captains starter Hunter Gaddis.
The Captains bats were silent off Lansing starter Charlie Cerny. Jose Mora relieved Cerny to start the third inning. Mora gave up a leadoff single to Julian Escobedo. Escobedo ended up at third base on consecutive grounds outs by Jose Tena and Micah Pries. After George Valera drew a five-pitch base on balls Joe Naranjo singled sharply to rightfield driving home Escobedo to cut the Lugnuts lead to two at 3-1.
The Captains scored their only other run of the game in the fourth inning when Joe Donovan tripled with one out and scored one batter later when Quentin Holmes singled to deep shortstop.
After the fourth inning the Captains managed just two more hits and four base runners total the rest of the night.
The game was still close when Gaddis left the game after six innings. That changed in the seventh. Nick Gallagher relieved Gaddis and issued a one out walk to Marcos Brito. Then Cobie Vance got a hold of a Gallagher pitch and planted it over the left field fence 376 feet away to give the Lugnuts a 5-2 lead.
Shohei Tomioka picked up the win in relief for the Lugnuts. Tomioka was originally scheduled to start the game but due to the threat of bad weather he pitched in relief. The 2020 international free agent signing out of Toyo University in Japan went three and one thirds innings allowing one run, it was earned on three hits. He also struck out four Captains hitters. With the win Tomioka improves to 4-5 with a 4.59 ERA. Gaddis took the loss for Lake County going six innings allowing three runs, two earned on three base hits. He issued base on balls while striking out seven Lugnuts batters. With the loss Gaddis falls to 3-7 with a 4.57 ERA.
With the loss the Captains are now 44-39 and remain one game out of the last playoff spot in the High-A Central behind the Great Lakes Loons and Cedar Rapids Kernels who are tied for the second spot.
Prior to the game the Captains inducted the 2021 Mentor Girls track team into the their team hall of fame along with longtime Captains beat writer David S. Glaiser.
Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. will be the series finale. Jack Cushing will be on the mound for the Lugnuts. Cushing pitched game one of the series and picked up the win. Cushing’s record on the season is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Righthander Mason Hickman will be on the hill for Lake County. Hickman, is 6-5 with a 4.75 ERA.
POSTED 08/07/2021 23:15