Loons Shutout on Friday Night

EASTLAKE, OH – Cleveland Indians pitcher Aaron Civale made his second rehab start in the minor leagues on Friday night versus the Loons (53-47) and proved he was ready for MLB competition again throwing four and 1/3 scoreless innings while setting the tone in a 5-0 Lake County Captains (54-46) win.

The Loons are currently mired in one of their longest offensive slumps of the season. It’s been just three games, but with five total runs since Wednesday the Loons have tied their lowest scoring three game stretch of the year. Friday night marked the fourth time this season Great Lakes was shutout.

Civale, who has been out for the Indians since June 22 with a sprained middle finger, struck out four allowing just one base hit on 57 pitches before handing things over to bridge pitcher Kevin Kelly. The Captains first man out of the bullpen recorded the final two outs of the fifth inning before scheduled piggyback starter Hunter Gaddis struck out eight in four scoreless frames. Gaddis (W, 4-8) had struggled against the Loons this year in his three previous starts with an ERA over 10, but Friday night was different.

Lake County pushed Loons starter Logan Boyer out of the game in the middle of the 2nd inning after scoring three runs on four base hits and a walk. Boyer (L, 0-3) has now allowed nine earned runs in his last four and 2/3 innings. The other two runs for the Captains came in the 6th inning on a line drive two-run home run from Jose Tena off Braidyn Fink.

The loss for Great Lakes, in concert with a Cedar Rapids win, now sees the Loons three games back of the second and final playoff spot in the High-A Central League. There are 20 games remaining in the 2021 regular season.

Game five of this six-game series is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday night. The series is currently split 2-2. Hard throwing Indians prospect Daniel Espino starts for Lake County while the Loons counter with lefty Alec Gamboa.

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.