Lugs blanked briskly by Root, Loons

MIDLAND, Mich. – Zach Root struck out nine batters in seven one-hit innings, and the Great Lakes Loons (30-20) took exactly 120 minutes to shut out the Lansing Lugnuts (23-29), 4-0, on Tuesday night at Dow Diamond.

It was the quickest nine-inning game of the season for both teams.

Root, the 40th selection of the 2025 draft from Arkansas, posted his longest professional outing, allowing only an Ali Camarillo first-inning single.

Robby Porco walked Nate Nankil in the eighth, and Dilan Figueredo gave up a double to Camarillo in the ninth before wrapping up the two-hitter.

For their part, Great Lakes only managed three hits, all against starter Steven Echavarria: a single by Kole Myers in the second inning; a leadoff double by Victor Rodrigues in the third inning, followed by a Chuck Davalan sac fly two batters later for a 1-0 lead; and a two-run double by Eduardo Quintero in the fifth, followed by an Emil Morales sac fly to wrap up the scoring.

Echavarria worked six innings in defeat, striking out six and walking three on 92 pitches.

Jose Dicochea struck out one in a perfect seventh, and Tucker Novotny faced the minimum in the eighth, picking Quintero (who had reached on an error) off first base.

Right-hander Samuel Dutton, coming off a month in which in he posted a 1.14 ERA in four May starts, takes on Great Lakes right-hander Aidan Foeller at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in game two of the six-game series.

The Nuts will next return home for a series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels from June 9-14. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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