Davenport, Captains shut out Lugnuts, 4-0

EASTLAKE, OH – Aaron Davenport overcame past struggles to combine with Jake Miller on a six-hit shutout, and the Lake County Captains (32-29, 63-63) beat the Lansing Lugnuts (28-35, 59-69), 4-0, on Thursday night at Classic Auto Group Park.

Lake County has won each of the first three games of the series to pull within two games of division-leading Fort Wayne with three games remaining in the regular season.

Davenport had allowed 11 hits and eight runs in 3 2/3 innings at Cedar Rapids in his last start and had given up 13 runs on 18 hits (five home runs) and 11 walks in three starts combined against the Lugnuts in 2023. He responded with six scoreless innings, limiting the Nuts to four singles and two walks while striking out six.

Miller followed by pitching around a two-out walk to Joshwan Wright in the seventh; stranding consecutive two-out singles by Colby Thomas and Brennan Milone in the eighth; and tossing a perfect ninth.

Lugnuts starter James González matched zeroes for the first five innings, coaxing a pair of threat-ending double plays, but departed in the sixth after allowing an RBI double to Cooper Ingle. González finished with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The Captains added three runs in the seventh on a Jake Fox RBI double and a Chase DeLauter two-run homer off Christian Fernandez.

In the loss, Lansing first baseman Milone went 2-for-3 with a single, double and walk. The former Oregon Duck has 13 hits in his last 26 at-bats.

20-year-old Lugnuts right-hander Luis Morales starts the fourth game of the series at 7 p.m. Friday night. For more information, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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