TinCaps Drop Series Finale in Dayton

Fort Wayne Goes 2-4 on Six-Game Trip

By Mike Couzens

May 10, 2014

Dayton, Ohio - In the rubber match of a three-game series at Fifth Third Field, the Fort Wayne TinCaps lost, 6-4, to the Dayton Dragons. Dayton's Nick Benedetto had a three-for-four day with a home run and four runs batted in to thwart Fort Wayne's attempt at a second series victory this season.

Adolfo Reina drove in the first run for Fort Wayne (14-21), which had been 9-5 when scoring first in games entering Saturday. His second-inning single scored Dustin Peterson. Reina finished the day 2-for-4 and has collected back-to-back multi-hit games.

Erik Cabrera (0-2), who became the 11^th different starter to take the hill for the TinCaps this season through the first 35 games, went just three innings in his first start since last year. He surrendered three earned runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out three. Dayton (21-14) shortstop Carlton Daal hit an RBI-triple to tie the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the second, and that was followed by a Nick Benedetto two-run home run giving the Dragons a 3-1 lead.

The TinCaps didn't back down against Dayton (21-14) starter Nick Traiveso (4-1), and they squeezed one more run out in the third. Fernando Perez, who finished the night with three runs batted in, drove in one to make it 3-2, Dragons. Perez now has 13 runs batted in over his last 10 games.

The game-changing inning was the bottom of the sixth, when Dayton scored three times, knocking TinCaps reliever Justin Livengood from the game. He allowed five straight runners to reach base and threw a wild pitch before being replaced by Eric Yardley. Fort Wayne nearly made up for the three-run inning when Fernando Perez had a two-run single in the top of the eighth, but the scoring spout dried up after that.

Sunday will be an off day for the TinCaps, their first since April 20^th. They resume play Monday at home with the start of a three-game series against the last-place Lake County Captains. Monday night's game is set for a 7:05 first pitch at Parkview Field, with the scheduled starters Payton Baskette for Fort Wayne and Dace Kime for Lake County. The game can be seen on XFINITY 81 and heard on The Fan 1380 and TheFanFortWayne.com.