Captains fall in McCarty-Greene shootout

(Eastlake, OH) - Kirk McCarty and Hunter Greene put on a show on Monday night at Classic Park. The starting pitchers were both virtually unhittable over seven innings and both turned in their best starts of the year. In the end, Greene and the Dayton Dragons (6-6, 37-43) outlasted McCarty and the Lake County Captains (4-8, 33-49), 2-1.
McCarty was dialed in early. After a leadoff single by Jose Garcia in the first, the lefty struck out Alejo Lopez and got Jeter Downs to bounce into a double play. McCarty then pitched back-to-back perfect innings in the second and third.

McCarty again rolled through the fourth, but not before some fireworks. Garcia led off the inning and fell behind 0-2. On the two-strike pitch, home plate umpire Ben Rosen signaled time out as McCarty pitched. Garcia hit a grounder into right field, but play was dead and the hit was nullified. When Garcia struck out on the next pitch, the Dragons' leadoff hitter broke the bat over his leg and was ejected. McCarty allowed a single to Lopez, erased him on a force out and struck out Andy Sugilio for his sixth punch-out to end the inning. He then pitched two more perfect frames in the fifth and sixth.
The Dragons struck quickly in the seventh for the game's first run. Lopez led off the frame with a double into the left field corner and Downs followed with a double to left to give Dayton a 1-0 lead. A great defensive play, however, kept the Dragons from keeping the rally going. Sugilio bunted back to the mound and McCarty retired him at first. Meanwhile, Downs broke late toward third and Ulysses Cantu fired to third. Nolan Jones slapped the tag on Downs for a 1-3-5 double play. McCarty then fanned Malik Collymore for his seventh strikeout to end the inning.
On the other side, Greene blew away the Captains. The right-hander held the Captains hitless until Jesse Berardi singled with two outs in the third. Greene then struck out Jones to end the inning. It was already his sixth strikeout of the game.
The Captains tallied their next hit in the fourth, but it did not turn into anything. Oscar Gonzalez roped a liner to right-center with one out and tried to stretch his single into a double, but centerfielder Mitch Piatnik threw him out at second. Greene then struck out Elvis Perez looking to end the inning.
Lake County could not Greene the rest of the way. Starting with his inning-ending strikeout in the fourth, the right-hander retired the last 10 men he faced, pitching three perfect frames from the fifth through the seventh.
After Tommy DeJuneas tossed a one-two-three eighth with two strikeouts, the Dragons added an insurance run in the ninth against Riley Echols . With one out and nobody on, Leandro Santana, who took over for Garcia, belted a solo homer to dead center. The long ball gave the Dragons a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Captains threatened to come back. Berardi pulled a one-out double into the right field corner. Jones then lined out to right for the second out, but Jose Medina grounded through the left side to score Berardi and put the tying run on first. Dragons reliever Cory Thompson then struck out Gonzalez to end the game and seal a win for Dayton.
Greene (3-6) earned the win. He struck out a career-high 10 men over seven shutout innings. Greene held the Captains to just two hits and did not issue a walk. His seven frames were also a career high.
Thompson picked up his fourth save. He pitched the eighth and ninth innings, allowing one run on two hits. Thompson struck out three and did not issue a walk.
McCarty (1-8) took a hard-luck loss. The lefty held the Dragons to one run on four hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
The Captains lost the opener of their four-game, home-and-home series with Dayton. Game two, the last of the series at Classic Park, is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-<st1:stockticker w:st="on">WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.