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Martinez Throws Six Scoreless in Loons 6-4 Win

Lugnuts score three in ninth but fall short, Great Lakes evens series
June 16, 2021

LANSING, MI – In one of the most impressive pitching performances of the season, Loons reliever Jose Martinez (W, 3-1) tossed a season-long six scoreless innings in relief for Great Lakes (19-19) in a 6-4 victory against the Lansing Lugnuts (18-20) at Jackson Field Wednesday night. Following a perfect one-inning

LANSING, MI – In one of the most impressive pitching performances of the season, Loons reliever Jose Martinez (W, 3-1) tossed a season-long six scoreless innings in relief for Great Lakes (19-19) in a 6-4 victory against the Lansing Lugnuts (18-20) at Jackson Field Wednesday night. Following a perfect one-inning start for Logan Boyer, Martinez allowed two Lugnuts to reach base on a walk and a single, striking out three batters and allowing no runs. The righty Martinez recorded 11 of the 18 outs on ground balls, facing the minimum of batters in five of his six innings. Lansing’s Shane Shuman (L, 1-2) surrendered eight hits in five innings and three earned runs, despite striking out eight batters.

Wednesday’s contest marked the first game for Austin Chubb’s Loons since the promotion of the High-A Central’s hit-leader, Miguel Vargas, who’s departure to Double-A Tulsa was announced earlier Wednesday. At age 21, Vargas exited as the HAC’s leader in hits, plate appearances, and total bases. Vargas held the third-best batting average (.314) after a 26-game hit streak was the best in pro baseball, also setting a new Loons franchise record.

Skipping no beats, four different Loons batters compiled multi-hit nights, with Andy Pages and James Outman both scoring two runs. Pages began the scoring campaign with his tenth Loons longball of the year in the top of the third at Jackson Field on Wednesday, while Yurchak contributed his fourth-consecutive three-hit performance. In his last four games, Yurchak is a combined 11-for-18 with no strikeouts. Improving from an 0.95 batting average in May, Yurchak is averaging .405 at the plate in 10 games in June, recording at least a hit in seven games, and more than one in five.

Wednesday’s 6-4 victory was Outman’s first game as the Loons’ leadoff man in the 2021 season. On top of his 2-for-5 night, scoring twice, Outman knocked his fifth triple of the season, which is a High-A Central best, and tied for most in all of professional baseball. With homerun number ten on Wednesday, Pages inches closer to Vinnie Pasquantino’s league-best 11 HRs in the HAC.

Zac Ching continues a robust month of June, leading the High-A Central with 22 hits. On top of a 15-game on-base streak, Ching is sustaining a .400 batting average over 58 plate appearances in the month of June with a team-best .600 slugging percentage.

Offensively, Great Lakes scored six runs on 11 hits, making it the fourth-consecutive night recording 10 or more hits in nine-inning games. In their 14 games since the beginning of the month of June, Loons batters have eclipsed double-digit hits in eight games, claiming victories in six of them. The Lugnuts tallied seven hits to the Loons’ 11, making GL 13-3 when outhitting their opponents this season. The Loons ended Wednesday 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

With an unearned insurance run against Brandon Withers, Great Lakes trusted a 6-1 advantage into the bottom of the ninth at Jackson Field on Wednesday. Jeff Belge walked Cobie Vance and gave up a double in the following at-bat to Jordan Diaz. Following a looking strikeout to William Simoneit, Shane Selman emptied the bases on the first pitch from Belge for his fifth homerun of the year. Elvis Peralta, who entered as a substitution for Austin Beck, singled with one out, suddenly bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Belge preserved his first save of the year with a 6-4-3, game-ending double play.

Lansing’s pitchers tallied 15 strikeouts and allowed two walks against the Loons in the losing effort, while Great Lakes pitchers totaled seven with three walks. Wednesday’s win evens the series a game apiece, giving the Loons their fifth win in eight matchups against the Lugnuts of the year. A Wednesday night contest at Jackson Field, in front of 2,678 fans, took two hours and 49 minutes, with the final out recorded at 9:55 P.M.

Loons and Lugnuts look to gain the advantage in this week’s series with the third game of a six-game stretch on Thursday night, first pitch again scheduled for 7:05 P.M. EDT from Jackson Field. Dodgers first-rounder Bobby Miller takes the bump for his seventh start of the year, bringing a 1.00 ERA with him. Miller hasn’t allowed a run in 7 2/3 innings in June, walking none and striking out seven over a two-start span. Opposing Miller will be Lansing’s Richard Guasch, making his seventh appearance in his third season in Oakland’s system. Guasch carries a 1.85 earned-run average with 30 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. Great Lakes Loons baseball can be listened to live all summer long on ESPN 100.9 FM, with pregame coverage beginning on the Loons On-Deck Circle, Built by Three Rivers, at 6:35 P.M.

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.