Loons Bully Whitecaps Again

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. - On a steamy Sunday afternoon, the Loons pushed aside the West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-2, to win their sixth straight game and clinch the four-game series at Fifth Third Ballpark a day early.
The Loons have one of the best records in all of professional baseball in the month of August; at 19-6, the mark trails only the St. Louis Cardinals (19-5) and the Dominican Summer League Rockies (20-2).
Deacon Liput keyed the Loons' offense in the early-going on Sunday: the Dodgers' 10th-round pick scored a run in the first inning on Devin Mann's RBI double and drove in another run in the second inning to put the Loons up 2-0.
West Michigan scored its first run of the series, ending a 21-inning drought, in the fourth inning, but never tied the game.
With the score 2-1 in the fifth, 19-year-old Jacob Amaya smacked his first home run in Loons' uniform to nudge the lead to 3-1. Playing in his 22nd game since his call-up from Rookie-Advanced Ogden, Amaya finished a triple shy of the cycle in his first three-hit effort with Great Lakes.
After the Whitecaps scored their second and final run in the sixth inning, the Loons bullpen pitched shut-down ball the rest of the way. Left-hander Austin Drury preserved his unblemished ERA with an inning and two-thirds Sunday to extend his shutout streak to 15 frames. Stephen Kolek faced the minimum over the final two innings and added three punchouts. Kolek has allowed two runs in 25 1/3 innings this season for the Loons.
The Fort Wayne TinCaps also lost on Sunday, which means the TinCaps and Whitecaps are both 3.5 games behind the Loons with seven games remaining in the regular season. The Loons' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is four.
Before a day off on Tuesday, the Loons return to Fifth Third Ballpark on Monday night for the series finale against West Michigan. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.