Nuts fall in 12-inning battle to Whitecaps

LANSING, Mich. – Samuel Dutton pitched seven scoreless innings and Rodney Green, Jr., homered into the Wrigley ivy, but the Lansing Lugnuts (20-27) fell short against the West Michigan Whitecaps (15-32), losing 6-5 in 12 innings on Wednesday afternoon at JacksonⓇ Field™.

Samuel Dutton sets a new professional high with seven scoreless innings, thanks to four double plays.

That included a perfectly executed practice reverse force followed by the real version a moment later. pic.twitter.com/tmiIVSN7lg

— Jesse Goldberg-Strassler (@jgoldstrass) May 27, 2026

Dutton, the A’s 10th-round selection in 2025 from Auburn, set a career high in innings behind four double plays, striking out one while allowing five hits and three walks, and the Nuts brought a 4-0 lead to the late-going.

“Had my sinker working, produced a bunch of ground balls,” Dutton said. “Luckily they hit it right to the defense and let the defense work.”

But West Michigan rallied with RBI singles from Bryce Rainer and Luke Shliger in the eighth, and a Garrett Pennington RBI single and a Shliger bases-loaded walk in the ninth to force extra innings.

Each team tallied a run in the 10th and was held scoreless in the 11th.

In the 12th, a wild pitch from Lugnuts reliever Tucker Novotny brought in what proved to be the game-winning run.

Lansing opened the scoring with a C.J. Pittaro sacrifice fly off Tigers pitching prospect Ben Jacobs in the second inning.

In the fourth inning, Green delivered his fifth home run of the season, a laser to into the right field ivy to make it 2-0.

“Just (sitting) hard on the fastball there, 2-0 count, looking for something up, something I can handle,” Green said. “And, yeah, just turned and burned on it.”

A single from Lugnuts catcher Carlos Franco chased West Michigan starter Ben Jacobs from the mound. Reliever Luke Stofel issued walks to three straight hitters, and a

Gunner Gouldsmith fielder’s choice plated Pedro Pineda for a 4-0 lead.

Green led the offense, going 2-for-5 from the plate and scoring three runs.

Ryan Brown pitched ⅓ of an inning, surrendering two runs, two hits and a walk. Luis Carrasco, who was credited with a blown save, pitched 1 ⅓ innings, giving up two runs and three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Darlin Pinales pitched 2 ⅓ innings and allowed one unearned run and one hit, striking out five. Novotny finished the game with one unearned run, one walk and two strikeouts.

“They (the bullpen) kinda struggled to find the zone,” manager Javier Godard said. “I mean, (they) fell behind, and it's pretty hard to get back when pretty much everybody's 3-1 count, you know? At some point they gotta come down the middle. And, you know, when we give free 90s away, just we're gonna pay the price for it, so that's what we did.”

Lugnuts ace Zane Taylor takes the mound for game three, opposing Whitecaps left-hander Andrew Sears on a Coors Light Thirsty Thursday at JacksonⓇ Field™, with the ballpark offering $3 domestics (cans/drafts), $5 seltzers, and $3 16oz soft drink specials. It is also Eastern Michigan University Night, with a special ticket package available. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6 p.m. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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