Maese sizzles in Lugnuts' 5-2 win

LANSING, Mich. - Justin Maese allowed three hits in seven innings, and the Lansing Lugnuts (15-11) stifled the Burlington Bees (9-15), 5-2, before a Friday night crowd of 8,651 at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The 20-year-old Maese (Win, 3-2), rated by MLB.com as the Blue Jays' No. 10 prospect, allowed only two sixth-inning runs - one earned - while striking out five Bees. It was his second straight seven-inning start.

Bo Bichette put the Lugnuts on the board quickly with a first-inning RBI triple against Burlington starter Joe Gatto(Loss, 2-2).

J.B. Woodman lined a two-out, two-run double in the fifth, increasing the Lugnuts' lead to 3-0.

Burlington shaved the lead to one run against Maese in the sixth, thanks to an RBI double from Jahmai Jones. Jones then daringly tagged on a foul popout to first base, advancing plateward when Christian Williams' s throw bounced past third baseman Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

Lansing added insurance runs in the sixth, via Williams RBI double, and in the eighth, via Ryan Hissey sacrifice fly, to close out the scoring.

Lefty Dan Lietz pitched a scoreless eighth, and Jackson McClelland (Save, 6) faced the minimum in the ninth. Each allowed a single.

Both Williams and Bichette enjoyed two-hit games for the Lugnuts. Guerrero drew a fourth-inning walk to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.

The middle affair of the three-game series is Comic-Con Night, set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday between Lansing's Patrick Murphy (2-0, 4.64) and Burlington's Erik Manoah Jr. (0-1, 4.24) in a battle of right-handers. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic book, and LAFCU Fireworks follow the game. Tickets may be purchased at the stadium box office, by calling (517) 485-4500 or via lansinglugnuts.com.
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