Great Lakes Pitching Staff Continues Stellar Run to Defeat Lansing

After two straight shutouts to wrap up a series against the Peoria Chiefs, the Great Lakes Loons pitching staff was on a roll.

While they didn’t shut out the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday night, they still carried the team to victory.

Great Lakes made it six wins in a row Tuesday at Jackson Field in Lansing, Mich., defeating the Lugnuts, 2-1.

Lansing (44-65, 19-24 second half) opened the scoring in the third inning. Brayan Buelvas singled with one out in the frame against Loons starter Nick Frasso. After a second out in the frame and a stolen base, Frasso was pulled for right-hander River Ryan (W, 1-0). The first pitch he tossed was smacked into right field, scoring Buelvas from second and giving Lansing a 1-0 lead.

For the Loons (66-43, 26-17), that run represented a lone blemish for Frasso, who was excellent in his second start in Loons uniform. Frasso spun 2 2-3 innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out five.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, saw terrific work from Ryan in relief. The right-hander, also in his second Loons appearance, tossed 4 1-3 frames of scoreless, two-hit baseball. He walked one and struck out six on the way to his first High-A win.

The Loons tied the game in the fifth inning, which was led off by an Eddys Leonard double. Leonard is now tied for the Midwest League lead with 28 two-baggers this season. He advanced to third on a groundout, then Damon Keith drove him in with a groundout, knotting things up at one run apiece.

The Lugnuts, High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, would keep the Loons without another hit until the eighth inning. In that frame, Keith led off with a double off the left field wall against Lansing righty reliever Trayson Kubo (L, 4-4). Keith advanced to third on a wild pitch, then Luis Yanel Diaz smacked a single that deflected off of the second baseman’s glove, allowing Keith to score and putting the Loons in front, 2-1.

An error and a single began Lansing’s half of the eighth inning, putting Ryan Sublette in a sticky situation with nobody out. He got the first two outs of the inning without the runners moving, then gave way to Jacob Cantleberry (SV, 3), who struck out the final batter to send it to the ninth.

In the final frame, Cantleberry allowed a one-out single, but no other damage, and picked up a second punchout while securing the 2-1 win for the Loons.

Great Lakes wins the game despite being outhit, 6-3, over the course of the contest. In this current six-game winning streak, the Loons have been outhit four times. Tuesday night, they held Lansing to a 1-for-12 line with runners in scoring position. The Loons had just five at-bats with men in scoring position and also recorded one hit. Great Lakes left just two runners on base, tied for a season low.

The Loons take a lead in this six-game set, and maintain an 11-8 lead in the season series with Lansing, which will conclude with this series. Game two of the set is Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m., with Lansing righty Christian Fernandez (0-1, 7.90 ERA) facing off against a yet-to-be-determined Great Lakes pitcher. Pregame coverage begins with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland, at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN 100.9-FM.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.