‘Pen Dominates in 4-0 Shutout
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – Dominant pitching and two crucial home runs propelled the West Michigan Whitecaps past the Fort Wayne TinCaps 4-0 in front of 4,500 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark. Pitcher Matt Walker, forced to make a spot-start in place of the injured Dylan Smith, tossed four scoreless
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – Dominant pitching and two crucial home runs propelled the West Michigan Whitecaps past the Fort Wayne TinCaps 4-0 in front of 4,500 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.
Pitcher Matt Walker, forced to make a spot-start in place of the injured Dylan Smith, tossed four scoreless innings on just one hit and four strikeouts as 'Caps pitching compiled ten punchouts in the shutout victory. Meanwhile, Bryant Packard blasted his fourth home run of the season before Trei Cruz cracked a two-run home run in the late stages of the contest - accounting for three of the Whitecaps four runs.
Outfielder Esney Chacon roped a triple in his first Midwest League at-bat in the third inning before Ben Malgeri scored him on a single, putting West Michigan in front 1-0. TinCaps starter Efraín Contreras lasted five innings, allowing two runs as Packard added his solo homer in the fourth inning, extending the lead to 2-0. Cruz added to the lead in the eighth with a two-run home run, 4-0. Fort Wayne managed to advance multiple runners on base in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. Still, they could not capitalize, as Whitecaps relievers Ted Stuka, Gabe Sequeira, Bryce Tassin, and Jared Tobey combined for five shutout innings to secure the 4-0 shutout victory - West Michigan's seventh shutout of the season.
The Whitecaps tie their longest winning streak of the 2022 campaign, with a chance to set a new record with a win on Saturday. Stuka (1-3) secures his first victory going 1.2 innings with three strikeouts, as Contreras (0-3) suffers his third loss. Chacon finished a perfect 2-2 while scoring twice in his debut. The Whitecaps improve to 36-37 as the TinCaps fall to 28-45.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps take on the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the fifth contest of this six-game set on Saturday night from LMCU Ballpark at 6:35 pm. Pitcher Ty Madden, a Detroit Tigers Top-5 prospect starts for the Whitecaps against lefty Robert Gasser of Fort Wayne. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.