Loons Top Lansing 6-2, Win Series

LANSING, Mich. – The final game of May saw the Great Lakes Loons (12-12) defeat the Lansing Lugnuts (11-13) at Jackson Field, 6-2. Andy Pages ended Sunday 2-for-4 with three RBI, knocking his fourth homerun of the season in the third inning. The Loons scored first Sunday, successfully scoring first versus the Lugs in every game of the series. Four runs scored in the first three innings Sunday made it 18 total runs scored by the GL offense in the Lansing series in each game’s first three innings. Sunday’s win gave Great Lakes their second road series of the season.

The duo of Pages and Miguel Vargas paced GL at the plate with a combined 5-for-9, scoring five times. Vargas upped his league-best hit count to 32 with a pair of doubles and a single, scoring every time he reached base. Pages, 20, made it his second homer in as many nights after leaving Jackson Field on Saturday night. James Outman scored a run on a double in the seventh, one of two runs scored in the inning to give GL some much needed insurance in the last three frames. The Lugnuts entered Sunday scoring eight runs in the eighth inning, combined between the two nights Lansing bested Great Lakes in this series. Both Pages and Vargas have reached base in their last 21 games.

Bobby Miller began Sunday’s game with his fourth start of the season, allowing one earned run on three hits. Miller’s 1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 innings is the second-lowest amongst GL starters, behind Clayton Beeter’s 1.69 ERA in 5 1/3 innings. Jack Little (W, 1-1) relieved Miller with 2 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out three. Andrew Shaps made his earliest appearance for the Loons this season, allowing an unearned run in sixth. Braidyn Fink and Morgan Cooper provided the final six outs, allowing no runs on two hits in the series-deciding win.

Lansing’s Stevie Emanuels (L, 1-1), a fifth-rounder by the Oakland A’s in 2020, allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and four punchouts. The Lugnuts called upon four relievers after Emanuels’ start ended. Charles Hall was responsible for back-to-back doubles by Vargas and Outman, both would score.

Sunday’s win sets the table for the most enticing matchup in the High-A Central to start the month of June, as Great Lakes returns to a full-capacity Dow Diamond on Tuesday to host the West Michigan Whitecaps. In their first series, the Loons took four of six from West Michigan at LMCU Ballpark from May 11-May 16. Since then, the ‘Caps have rattled of 10 wins in their last 12 games, most recently sweeping the Lake County Captains in Comstock Park. Coming off their series win in Lansing, the Loons have won seven of their last ten. West Michigan leads the East Division with a 15-9 record, while the Loons sit behind Dayton at 13-11 for third.

West Michigan is expected to bring righty Beau Brieske (17.2 IP, 3.06 ERA) to the mound to begin the six-game trip to Midland. Great Lakes is scheduled to start fellow righthander Jose Martinez. Martinez makes his fourth start Tuesday, in what will be his fifth appearance of the season. In 18 1/3 innings, Martinez holds a 1.96 earned-run average.

Tuesday’s series debut against West Michigan is slated to be the Great Lakes Loons’ “Re-Opening Night” at Dow Diamond, the first full-capacity game at Dow Diamond since September 2019. In partnership with Hemlock Semiconductor, 500 pairs of complimentary lawn tickets (1,000 total) will be handed out to frontline workers. Tuesday’s at Dow Diamond all summer long will be Small Business Tuesdays, presented by Midland Business Alliance. Additionally, Tuesdays honor Hometown Heroes, also presented by Hemlock Semiconductor. More information can be found at Loons.com.

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.