Diaz, Lugnuts dent TinCaps, 12-4

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Lansing Lugnuts (5-2) piled up 16 hits – four by third baseman Davis Diaz – and cruised past the Fort Wayne TinCaps (2-6) in a four-day span, cruising to a 12-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Parkview Field.

The Nuts have won four of the first five games in the series, clinching Lansing’s first ever six-game series win at Fort Wayne. In the process, the Nuts have outscored the TinCaps 34-8.

Diaz singled in the second inning, doubled in two runs in a three-run third, singled and scored in a three-run fifth, delivered an RBI single and scored in a five-run sixth, and was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning and scored the Nuts’ 12th and final run. His eight runs scored overall are tied with teammate Bobby Boser for the Midwest League lead, and his .500 batting average (9-for-18) is tied with South Bend’s Reginald Preciado for the league lead.

In addition to Diaz, Dylan Fien and Jared Sprague-Lott drilled two-run doubles, while Casey Yamauchi added a two-run single.

The beneficiary was Kyle Robinson, who tossed five innings, allowing two hits and one run (a Jake Cunningham solo home run) while walking four and fanning two. Lansing starting pitchers have allowed just four runs in 34 innings through seven games.

About the only thing that went wrong: In the bottom of the seventh, shortstop Boser mishandled a Jonathan Vastine groundball for the Nuts’ first error of the season. Lansing was the last team in pro ball, Minor or Major League, to commit an error.

The Lugnuts go for five-out-of-six at The Fort on Sunday at 1:05 p.m., sending right-hander Tzu-Chen Sha against the TinCaps’ Abraham Parra.

The Nuts next return home from April 14-19 against the West Michigan Whitecaps. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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