Baez bests Captains on Independence Day

(Fort Wayne, IN) - Michel Baez proved too much for the Lake County Captains (7-6, 34-48) on Independence Day. The Cuban right-hander, who was making his Midwest League debut with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (8-5, 34-49) and just his second stateside professional appearance, struck out nine Captains over five shutout innings in front of a record-breaking crowd of 9,266 at Parkview Field. Lake County lost to the TinCaps, 4-0.
Baez (1-0) never really got into trouble on Tuesday night and earned the win. After retiring the first six men he faced, Baez surrendered a leadoff single to Luke Wakamatsu in the third, but Wakamatsu was quickly caught stealing. Baez allowed another single to Jose Medina later in the inning, but he was left stranded. 

After Medina's hit, Baez retired the last seven men he faced, including five strikeouts. Baez struck out the side in order in the fifth and fanned the last four men he faced, all swinging. He allowed just two hits, did not walk a batter and never allowed a Lake County baserunner to advance beyond first.
The TinCaps scratched across four runs against Lake County starter Juan Hillman. In the second, Brad Zunica led off with a single and Jorge Ona followed with a double down the left field line. Marcus Greene, Jr. then plated the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought home Zunica. Shortly thereafter, with Nate Easley batting, Hillman uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ona to score and give Fort Wayne a 2-0 lead.
Hillman left a runner on second base in the fourth. In the fifth, however, the lefty surrendered another run. Ona led off with his second double of the night, but Hillman responded by striking out Greene and getting Hudson Potts to bounce to third. With Ona on third and two outs, Easley hit a hard grounder to third that took a high bounce, kicked off of Gavin Collins' glove and bounced into left field. The hot-shot infield single allowed Ona to score and gave Fort Wayne a 3-0 lead. The TinCaps tacked on another run in the fifth when Buddy Reed hit a one-out double and Zunica knocked him in with a broken-bat single to right.
Hillman (3-4) suffered the loss. The Captains' southpaw pitched five innings and allowed four runs. Hillman surrendered seven hits, walked one batter and struck out four.
The Captains' offense had little success against Fort Wayne's bullpen. The Captains put runners in scoring position in the sixth, seventh and eighth, but could not push a run across against either lefty Will Headean or right-hander Wilmer Torres.
Headean pitched 2.1 innings and did not allow a run despite allowing five hits and a walk. Torres pitched 1.2 shutout innings en route to his second save of the year. Torres gave up one hit and struck out two.
The Captains watched their losing streak extend to three games, while Fort Wayne ended its four-game losing streak with a win in the opening game of the three-game series. Game two of the series is scheduled for 7:05 PM on Wednesday night at Parkview Field.
Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12- and 20-game mini ticket plans for the 2017 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.