Absolutely Nuts: Green slam forces extras, Dickey walks off in 12th
LANSING, Mich. – Is the ninth game of the season too soon for the Game of the Year? The Lansing Lugnuts (4-5) rallied from a six-run deficit in the ninth inning, forcing extras on a two-strike, two-out Rodney Green, Jr. grand slam, and then rallied again in the 12th inning
LANSING, Mich. – Is the ninth game of the season too soon for the Game of the Year? The Lansing Lugnuts (4-5) rallied from a six-run deficit in the ninth inning, forcing extras on a two-strike, two-out Rodney Green, Jr. grand slam, and then rallied again in the 12th inning to stun the Great Lakes Loons (4-5), 12-11, on a Jared Dickey game-winning two-run single on Sunday afternoon at Jackson® Field™.
Begin with the ninth inning: Great Lakes had scored eight unanswered runs to bring a 9-3 lead to the ninth, but a Darlyn Montero RBI groundout and a Sahid Valenzuela RBI walk led to Green coming up as the game-tying run against Loons reliever Jesús Luna. The Nuts’ center fielder fell behind 0-and-2 before launching a Luna breaking ball out to right.
Green tied for the Midwest League lead with his fourth homer of the season, all coming in his last six games. No other Lugnut has a home run in 2025.
Down 9-3 entering the 9th... this game just got NUTS!
— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) April 13, 2025
RODNEY GREEN, JR. GAME-TYING GRAND SLAM pic.twitter.com/yO9KeSydmm
The 10th and 11th innings passed scorelessly before Kendall George swatted his second home run of the game, a two-run homer to center off Tom Reisinger, to give the Loons an 11-9 lead in the 12th inning.
Cole Conn led off the bottom of the 12th with an RBI double off Christian Ruebeck, and Nate Nankil followed with a walk. That brought up Dickey, who lined a base hit into right-center to bring home both Conn and Nankil with the tying and winning runs.
The Lugnuts and Loons split the six-game series.
JARED DICKEY WALKS IT OFF pic.twitter.com/MdGyKgKtBN
— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) April 13, 2025
The Nuts finished the game with 13 hits and 10 walks while striking out only three times, lifting the Midwest League’s best offense’s team batting average to .268 and team on-base percentage to a remarkable .400. Lansing also leads the MWL in hits (82), walks (59) and fewest strikeouts (61).
Dickey joined Conn and Nankil in turning in a three-hit performance, with Casey Yamauchi going 2-for-5 with a two-run double. All nine Lugnuts batters scored at least one run.
The Nuts will travel Monday to Appleton, Wisconsin, opening up a six-game series at the Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night.
Lansing’s next homestand runs from April 22-May 4, with 12 games in 13 days at Jackson® Field™. Tickets are available at the stadium box office, (517) 485-4500 or online at milb.com/lansing.
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