Super Nove, Nuts dominate TinCaps

LANSING, Mich. – Jackson Nove pitched a career-high 5 ⅔ innings, allowing just one run, and the offense exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning to catapult the Lansing Lugnuts (26-35, 55-70) to a resounding 10-1 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (26-34, 53-73) on Wednesday night at JacksonⓇ Field™.

The Lugnuts continue their strong play at home, winning 14 of their last 17 games in Michigan’s state capital.

“Even though we're out of it, we're still competing, and this is professional baseball, so at the end of the day, we're not done until the last game of the season, so the guys showed that today,” manager Javier Godard.

In his fourth game at the High-A level, Nove was electric, limiting the TinCaps to three hits, one run and two walks with four strikeouts in a career-high 5 ⅔ innings.

“If I would've told you in the beginning of the year I was getting up to 90 (pitches), I'd maybe say you were a little crazy,” Nove said. “But the A's have done a great job building me up, and just the support from the staff and everybody around me, just I felt comfortable going out there and giving it everything I had.”

“He was confident with all three of his pitches,” catcher Dylan Fien said. “I mean, he was definitely throwing up the zone. Even though there were a couple at-bats there where he fell behind, he was able to bring it back in and make those late three-one, three-two outs, which was huge.”

On offense, after leaving the bases loaded in the second inning, Lansing broke through in the third. New addition Alex Fernandes led off the inning with his first professional hit, a line drive single into left field off starter Matthew Watson, before Jared Davis fired a double down the left-field line and a Breyson Guedez sacrifice fly to right brought Fernandes home for a 1-0 Lugnuts lead. Two batters later, Dylan Fien plated Davis with a soft infield single to give Lansing a 2-0 edge.

In the fourth, the Lugnuts offense went nuclear. A Tanner Marsh strikeout began the bottom of the frame, but Gunner Gouldsmith drew a walk off reliever Brandon Langley before stealing second and taking third on a throwing error by catcher Lamar King Jr. Another sacrifice fly to right, this time from Fernandes, made it 3-0.

With two outs, a Davis walk and Guedez single put runners at the corners, and a Jake Reinisch RBI single to right extended the Lugnut advantage. A Fien swing and miss strikeout should have ended the inning, but a wild pitch from Langley allowed the hitter to reach first safely and load the bases. Myles Naylor and C.J. Pittaro followed with back-to-back two-run singles to launch Lansing to an 8-0 lead.

The avalanche of runs forced Fort Wayne to make a pitching change, calling on Florangel Vasquez to try and collect the final out. Instead, Gouldsmith drove in a ninth run with an RBI single to right-center field, and Fernandez capped off the eight-run cruise with an RBI single to left, gifting Lansing a 10-0 lead that proved more than adequate.

“I think guys were just being patient at the plate,” Fien said. “They were taking opportunities, taking bags when the opportunities were in front of ‘em, and kind of just one of those things where the mojo gets going and it just doesn't stop.”

The Lugnuts needed only two pitchers in the outing; after Nove exited with two outs in the sixth, Gerlin Rosario finished the final 3 ⅓ innings, allowing three hits while striking out three.

“I was a little nervous today going into today's game because of our bullpen was sort of short, but he (Nove) was able to give us some length, as well as Rosario,” Godard said. “It was huge for him (Rosario) that he gave us 3.1 (innings).”

In the winning cause, all but one Lugnut recorded a hit. Fien slashed 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. In his second professional game, Fernandes also went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

“It's been a blessing,” Fernandez said. “It's a great group of guys, and they've made it really easy for me to just come in here and transition into playing at this level. It's a lot of fun.”

Pittaro and Guedez each ended with two hits and one run scored, and Pittaro collected two RBIs while Guedez drove in one. Reinisch went 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored, elongating his on-base streak to 41 games, the second-longest current streak in the minors.

Samuel Dutton is scheduled to start on Thursday, rivaling San Diego Padres No. 6 prospect Bryan Balzer. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a Coors Light Thirsty Thursday featuring Greek Night, celebrating fraternities and sororities, and Michigan State University Night, with a special ticket package available that includes an MSU bucket hat. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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