Seven-Run Inning Lifts TinCaps over Lugnuts
Lansing, MI - Behind the strength of a seven-run, eleven-batter fifth inning, the Fort Wayne TinCaps defeated the Lansing Lugnuts, 8-1, Thursday night at Cooley Law School Stadium. Luis Domoromo, who had just one hit on the season coming into the night, went three-for-four, driving in three runs and hitting two triples in the fifth inning.
The fifth frame started with the first of Domoromo's triples, which was the harbinger of the end of starter Roberto Osuna's outing. Osuna (3-4), the 18-year-old from Mexico, then hit Mallex Smith, walked Brian Adams, and gave up a two-run single to Corey Adamson, who was the last batter he faced. Maxx Tissenbaum welcomed new pitcher Tucker Donahue by hitting a run-scoring single, pushing the score to 5-0. Luis Tejada hit a two-run single later in the inning, and Domoromo , marking the 10th Fort Wayne (2-6, 45-32) plate appearance of the inning, hit a two-run triple to right field, stretching the lead to 8-0.
The seven-run inning marked the most runs the TinCaps have scored in a single frame this season. It also attempted to overshadow the outing by Zach Eflin (4-4), who dominated Lansing (2-6, 34-43) hitters through five innings. The righthander struck out a career-high-tying eight batters, allowing four hits, and walking just one. The lone run allowed by the native Floridian came on a solo home run by Chris Hawkins in the fifth.
The TinCaps first run of the game scored on a Domoromo single in the second inning, scoring Dane Phillips. In the 11 games played between Fort Wayne and Lansing, the TinCaps are a dominant 10-1. They have scored at least five runs in every game and reached double-digits in hits 10 of the 11 contests.
The finale of the three-game series is scheduled for Friday night at 7:05. The scheduled starters are Max Fried for Fort Wayne and Javier Avendano for Lansing. The game can be heard on The Fan 1380 and TheFanFortWayne.com.