Whitecaps Nab Twinbill from TinCaps

Comstock Park, Mich. - On Wednesday night at Fifth Third Ballpark, the TinCaps lost both games of a doubleheader against the West Michigan Whitecaps. In game one Fort Wayne was done in by a Lance Durham three-run home run, falling by a 5-2 final, and in game two the TinCaps could not muster any offense, being shut out, 2-0.

Offense was hard to come by in game one against West Michigan (34-30, 67-67) starter Jordan John (9-4), who fanned a career-best 13 batters in just six innings of work. He scattered seven hits and did not walk a hitter. However, the TinCaps scraped across two runs in the game's third inning, getting back-to-back RBI singles from Reynaldo Bruguera and Alberth Martinez to take a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of that same frame Fort Wayne (26-39, 69-65) starter Joe Ross (5-8) gave up a two-run single to the Whitecaps' Jeff Holm, which was immediately followed by a three-run blast off the bat of Lance Durham, sending a 2-2 tie to a 5-2 West Michigan lead that would not be altered. Over the remaining four innings of play, the TinCaps put just two runners in scoring position.

Game two saw Fort Wayne piece together just four hits, as TinCaps batters had trouble getting to West Michigan's Jeff Thompson (2-2). The righthander, drafted in the third round of June's draft from the University of Louisville, hurled six near-flawless frames. He allowed four hits and like John, also did not walk a batter. Thompson struck out six.

TinCaps starter Walker Weickel looked equally impressive, fanning seven batters over 4 2/3 innings without issuing a walk and allowing six hits. Weickel was pulled in favor of Chris Nunn (8-2), who finished the fifth inning, but did not close the sixth. Trevor Gott was called upon with one out and a runner at second base in the last of the sixth inning. He retired he first batter he faced, but gave up back-to-back two-out run-scoring hits to Jake Stewart and Austin Green, which scored the only runs of the game.

Fort Wayne has a chance for redemption Thursday night as it plays game three of the four-game set against the Whitecaps. The scheduled starters are Bryan Rodriguez for Fort Wayne and Montreal Robertson for West Michigan. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m., and the game can be heard on The Fan 1380 and TheFanFortWayne.com.