12 runs over three innings drive Captains comeback

(Lansing, MI) – The Lake County Captains (35-29) were down by six runs heading into the seventh inning against the Lansing Lugnuts (30-34) on Friday night, but stormed back for an improbable 13-9 win at Jackson Field. Lake County scored six runs in the seventh to tie the score, two in the eighth to take the lead and four more for good measure in the ninth, tallying 12 runs across three frames against the Lansing bullpen.

The Lugnuts built their lead early. Shane Selman led off the first inning with a home run to left on the second pitch by Captains starter Tanner Burns to give the Lugnuts a 1-0 lead.

The Captains knotted the score in the top of the third. Joe Naranjo singled to left and Lansing starter Reid Birlingmair hit Cody Farhat with a pitch. A snap throw to first base by catcher Drew Millas skipped away from Patrick McColl at first, sending Naranjo to third. Will Brennan then knocked in Naranjo with a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score.

Lansing regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Burns walked Millas with one out and Austin Beck drilled a two-out RBI double off the 20-foot high wall in left-center. Jordan Díaz then singled home Beck to give the Lugnuts a 3-1 lead.

The Lugnuts tacked on four more runs in the fourth against the Captains’ bullpen. Reliever Jared Janczak began the inning and got Cobie Vance to ground to second, but an error by Raynel Delgado put the leadoff man aboard. Vance stole second, Lazaro Armenteros walked with one out and a double steal moved both runners into scoring position. Following a mound conference, Janczak walked Selman to load the bases and Millas delivered a two-run single to right that gave the Lugnuts a 5-1 lead.

After another mound conference, Janczak hit Michael Guldberg with a pitch. That loaded the bases, but the Captains caught a momentary break. A Janczak pitch skidded past catcher Bryan Lavastida, but ricocheted back to him off the concrete wall. Selman tried to score from third, but Lavastida dove at home and tagged him out. Beck, however, followed with a two-run double that ballooned the Lugnuts’ lead to 7-1.

Another wild carom helped get the Captains out of trouble in the fifth and helped prevent Lansing from extending its lead. Elvis Peralta, Jr. led off with a double and moved to third on a fly out. With one out, McColl hit a frozen rope to second. Delgado caught the liner and whipped a throw to third in an effort to double off Peralta. Delgado’s throw skipped past third baseman Victor Nova and Peralta broke for home, but the ball bounced off the barrier and deflected right back to Nova. The Captains caught Peralta in a rundown and Rocchio tagged the runner out between home and third to end the inning.

Lake County’s offense exploded for six runs to tie the game in the seventh. Naranjo led off with his third single of the game and Cody Farhat roped a double to left to put two in scoring position. Brennan came up next and worked a masterful 15-pitch at bat. He fouled off 10 pitches by reliever Brock Whittlesey before drawing a walk to load the bases. José Mora relieved Whittlesey, but his first pitch out of the bullpen hit Brayan Rocchio to force home Naranjo. Mora missed with the next four pitches to walk Lavastida and send Farhat home. George Valera came up with the bases loaded, representing the tying run in a 7-3 ballgame. Valera bounced out to first base, but Brennan scored from third to pull the Captains within three runs at 7-4. That brought up Nova and the lefty drilled a line drive into the right-center field gap. Rocchio and Lavastida scored, as Nova raced to third with a triple to cut the Lugnuts’ lead to one run. The Lugnuts made another pitching change, as Charles Hall relieved Mora, but Hall delivered a wild pitch to Delgado and Nova scampered home to tie the game at 7-7. The Captains scored six runs on three hits in the seventh to even the score.

The deadlock did not last long. With one out in the seventh, Díaz cracked a long solo homer over the left field wall to put Lansing back in front, 8-7.

The Captains bounced back in the eighth, with a little help from the Lansing defense. Naranjo began the inning and hit a bouncing ball that Peralta misplayed at second for an error Farhat followed with a single to put two men aboard. Brennan grounded to first, but that moved both runners into scoring position at second and third. After Rocchio bounced out to first and the runners held, Lavastida came up with two outs and the Captains still down by one. Lavastida lifted a deep fly ball to the right-center field power alley. Guldberg raced from center, dove and could not come up with the baseball, which popped out of his mitt as he slid on the edge of the warning track. Naranjo and Farhat scored on Lavastida’s double to give the Captains their first lead of the game, 9-8.

Lake County added critical insurance runs in the ninth. The Captains struck for five consecutive one-out hits against right-hander Brandon Withers. Delgado singled, Aaron Bracho singled, Naranjo singled to score Delgado, Farhat doubled to plate Bracho and Brennan knocked in both Naranjo and Farhat with a single up the middle. The flash rally gave the Captains a 13-8 lead.

Lansing managed one run in the ninth against Kevin Kelly, who had also pitched the eighth. Beck led off the frame with a long home run to left. After Díaz singled, Kelly (6) retired the final three men to end the game and earn the save. He allowed one run on two hits over two innings. The right-hander struck out three and walked one.

Captains reliever Nick Gallagher (1-3) picked up the win. He worked 3.1 innings out of the bullpen and allowed one run, the Díaz home run, on three total hits. Gallagher struck out two and did not issue a walk, but hit one batter.

Hall (3-2) suffered the loss and his fourth blown save. The Lansing reliever worked 1.2 innings and allowed two runs, neither of which was earned, on two hits. Hall did not record a strikeout or issue a walk.

Hunter Gaddis gets the ball for the Captains in game five of the series on Saturday. First pitch at Jackson Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

About the Captains

The Lake County Captains are the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. For more information, visit the Captains’ website at www.CaptainsBaseball.com, Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CaptainsBaseball, Twitter @LCCaptains and Instagram @LCCaptains. Fans can also get the latest Captains news and offers by signing up for the Captains’ newsletter, The Anchor.