Criswell named MWL Pitcher of the Week

LANSING, Mich. – Jeff Criswell, who came three outs away from throwing the first individual no-hitter in Lansing Lugnuts franchise history and settled for a one-hit shutout, has been named the Midwest League’s Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 26-May 1, Minor League Baseball announced today.

Criswell is the first Lugnut to receive a weekly league honor since Lawrence Butler was named the High-A Central Player of the Week for the final week of the 2021 season.

Criswell, a native of Portage who was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round in 2020 from the University of Michigan, dazzled the Lake County Captains in Game 2 of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. Through six innings, the Captains’ only base runner had come on a first-inning catcher’s interference. In the seventh and final frame, Christian Cairo worked a walk and Petey Halpin followed with a ground-ball single through the right side, ending the no-hit bid. Criswell responded with a double-play ball and groundout in his next two pitches, tossing the Midwest League’s first complete game of the year on just 68 pitches in total.

Among all pitchers in Major League and Minor League Baseball, only Criswell, Mississippi’s Jared Shuster and the L.A. Dodgers’ Walker Buehler have recorded shutouts this year.

The Lansing Lugnuts (7-14) return to Jackson® Field™ for a 12-game, 13-day homestand from May 3-15, welcoming in the West Michigan Whitecaps for the first of six on Tuesday, May 3, with an 11:05 a.m. Grand Slam School Day. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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