Gelof HR lifts Loons over Lugs, 5-3
MIDLAND, Mich. – Jake Gelof, whose older brother Zack skipped over Lansing on his way up to the Oakland Athletics, banged a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Great Lakes Loons (20-10) topped the Lansing Lugnuts (13-17), 5-3, on Thursday night at
MIDLAND, Mich. – Jake Gelof, whose older brother Zack skipped over Lansing on his way up to the Oakland Athletics, banged a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Great Lakes Loons (20-10) topped the Lansing Lugnuts (13-17), 5-3, on Thursday night at Dow Diamond.
Great Lakes scored its five runs with two big swings: a Chris Newell two-run roundtripper in the first inning off Lugnuts starter Jake Garland, and Gelof’s go-ahead blast off the green railing above the left field wall off piggyback reliever Grant Judkins.
The Nuts had rallied to take a 3-2 with three runs in the fifth inning against Loons reliever Brandon Neeck, though the outburst came with controversy. With two outs, Jonny Butler tripled, Henry Bolte singled him in, Will Simpson singled Bolte to second base, and Brayan Buelvas followed with a drive that ricocheted off the railing above the right field wall, mirroring Gelof’s drive an inning later. But fill-in bases umpire Glen Meyerhofer ruled the ball still in play, leaving Buelvas with a double rather than a home run. Euribiel Ángeles then flied out to left, stranding Buelvas in scoring position.
The Lugnuts put two runners aboard in the sixth and seventh inning against Kelvin Bautista, but failed to bring any of the four in. A CJ Rodriguez walk in the eighth and Buelvas single in the ninth also failed to amount to a rally, handing the Loons a second win in the first three games of the six-game set.
Buelvas finished the game 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, a walk and two RBIs. Bolte and Ángeles each contributed two hits of their own.
Starter Garland, meanwhile, was excellent after Newell’s home run, allowing only two hits in total in five innings, with one strikeout and three walks. The right-hander from Miami has a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings.
The fourth game of the series will be played at 6:05 p.m. Friday, pitting Lansing right-hander Mitch Myers against Loons right-hander Jacob Meador.
Following the Sunday conclusion of the series, the Lugnuts will return home for a six-game series with Lake County from May 14-19. Tickets are available for purchase at the Jackson® Field™ box office, available for purchase at (517) 485-4500 or online at milb.com/lansing.
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