Crawford spells relief as Loons even Finals

Leo Crawford and the Class A Great Lakes pitching staff provided exactly what the club needed Thursday.

The Dodgers southpaw allowed a hit and walk while striking out eight over five innings of relief as the visiting Loons beat the Clinton LumberKings, 4-0, to knot the best-of-5 Midwest League Championship Series at a game apiece.

Crawford entered the game in the fourth inning and mowed through the Clinton lineup, not allowing a hit until Dalton Kelly singled with one out in the sixth. The 19-year-old threw 50 of 64 pitches for strikes.

"He's been clutch for us for a while now," Great Lakes manager Gil Velazquez said. "[His] performance was outstanding. He located in, attacked down, threw a lot of strikes, used his changeup and mixed in his offspeed very well, kept hitters off balance. Can't ask for any more than that, he did a great job for his team.

"His changeup is pretty good, but he didn't just strike out guys with his changeup. He struck guys out with his fastball. A lot of it was he kept them guessing. He located very well and was able to keep them off balance with his offspeed."

Crawford took over for starter Walker Buehler, who gave up two hits and struck out four over the first three innings. The Dodgers' No. 7 prospect threw 29 of 43 pitches for strikes before reaching his pitch count.

"A lot of strong fastballs, he has a power arm, " Velazquez said. 'Attacked the zone pretty good. Used his curveball and his slider and looked like he was overpowering the hitters."

Dean Kremer fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game. A night after giving up 16 runs, Great Lakes bounced back big-time.

"After a loss like that, it's huge," the former Major Leaguer said. "It just shows how resilient our guys are. They don't give up, they come ready to play. I can't say nothing but great things about our guys to come back and perform after a tough loss like [Wednesday's]."

Omar Estevez, the Dodgers' No. 12 prospect, had a pair of hits and drove in the game's first two runs with a single in the third.

"It was huge," Velazquez said. "He continues to be clutch for us. He's been clutch for us in most situations and finds a way to come through for us when he comes up in situations like that. It's nothing that's surprising, It's just awesome for an 18-year-old to be playing this way."

The series heads to Great Lakes for Game 3 on Saturday.