Olivares, Nuts break TinCaps' spell, 6-5

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - J.B. Woodman capped a five-run seventh with a three-run homer and Edward Olivares broken an eighth-inning tie with a solo shot, carrying the Lansing Lugnuts (34-26) to a 6-5 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (23-40) on Sunday afternoon at Parkview Field.

The Lugnuts won their first game in the season series after five straight losses, closing within two games of the Eastern Division wild card with seven games to play in the first half.

Fort Wayne starter Reggie Lawson blanked Lansing for the first six innings, striking out eight batters, but his bullpen could not hold a 3-0 lead. Nick Monroe faced five batters in the seventh and recorded only one out, departing after a Nash Knight RBI single brought the Lugs within 3-2.

With Christian Williams and Knight aboard, Woodman blasted a 3-0 pitch from Blake Rogers(Blown Save, 3) out to left-center, lifting Lansing to a 5-3 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, however, Jorge Oña grounded a two-out, two-run single up the middle against Kirby Snead , tying the score at 5-5.

Olivares seized the hero role in the eighth, leading off against Emmanuel Ramirez(Loss, 0-2) with his tenth home run of the season. It was his third consecutive game with a roundtripper.

Snead (Blown Save, 1; Win, 4-1) struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth, closing out 1 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.

Connor Eller (Save, 1) pitched a hairy ninth inning, giving up a pair of singles before escaping when Fort Wayne's Fernando Tatis, Jr. attempted to move up to second base on a bounced slider and was thrown out by catcher Ryan Hissey .

The Lugnuts' offense was led by Bo Bichette , who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, extending his on-base streak to 20 games and raising his league-leading batting average to .388.

The Lugs go for a split in the four-game series on Monday at 7:05 p.m., with right-hander Andy Ravel (4-1, 7.61) taking on Fort Wayne right-hander Adrian De Horta (0-0, 3.72).

The Lansing Lugnuts return home from June 16-18, hosting the archrival West Michigan Whitecaps. Tickets may be purchased at the Cooley Law School Stadium box office, by calling (517) 485-4500 or via lansinglugnuts.com.
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