Captains Even Series in Marathon Game

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians affiliate) clinched a playoff spot with a 7-4 win over the TinCaps at Parkview Field in front of 7,122 fans on Saturday night. The game was delayed by just over an hour due to rain in the area and lasted 3:49 - the longest game of the season for Fort Wayne.
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Lake County (40-28) thundered in front in the top of the first via home runs on consecutive pitches. First, Bo Naylor launched a two-run dinger to right-center field, followed by a solo blast by Will Benson. Naylor is now on a seven-game hitting streak (batting .391 during that time), and Benson leads the Midwest League with 18 home runs this season (two in this series). The Captains tacked on another run in the first to make it a four-run frame.
 
Fort Wayne (32-35) scored a run in the second on a curious play. Michael Curry singled leading off the inning, followed by a Justin Lopez single that appeared to put two runners on base with nobody out. However, the Captains' starter, Cody Morris, threw the still live baseball into the dugout before the umpire had granted timeout, giving each runner two bases and allowing Curry to score.
 
The Captains responded in the fifth with a Jose Rolette RBI double that increased their lead back to four at 5-1.
 
Cody Morris was strong in his start for Lake County, allowing just one run (unearned) in five innings with six strikeouts and one walk. In three starts against Fort Wayne this season, Morris has gone 15.0 total innings and allowed four earned runs (2.40 ERA) with 19 strikeouts.
 
The TinCaps had a great chance to crawl closer in the sixth when they loaded the bases with one out on singles by Tucupita Marcano and Grant Little plus a Curry walk. Yet, back-to-back strikeouts erased the Fort Wayne threat.
 
The Captains added to their lead with a single run in the seventh.
 
Fort Wayne got two runs back in the bottom of the eighth on a Juan Fernandez double that brought home Curry and Lopez.
 
Lake County completed their scoring on the evening with a lone run in the ninth, as Naylor scored on an RBI single by Mitch Reeves.
 
The 'Caps made it interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with one out on three walks. Agustin Ruiz brought home one run on a sacrifice fly, but a swinging strikeout ended the game just before midnight.
 
Next Game
Sunday, June 15 vs. Lake County (1:05 p.m.)
- TinCaps Probable Starter: RHP Gabe Mosser
- Captains Probable Starter: RHP Juan Mota
Watch: Comcast Network 81 & MiLB.TV
Listen: ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com | TuneIn