FORT WAYNE, IN - Colby Bortles led a 13-hit attack with a double and solo home run as the West Michigan Whitecaps defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps 3-1 in front of 8,456 fans Saturday night at Parkview Field.West Michigan now holds a three-game lead over the rest of the Midwest
FORT WAYNE, IN - Colby Bortles led a 13-hit attack with a double and solo home run as the West Michigan Whitecaps defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps 3-1 in front of 8,456 fans Saturday night at Parkview Field.
West Michigan now holds a three-game lead over the rest of the Midwest League Eastern Division playoff-eligible teams with just 22 games remaining.
After 'Caps starter Wilkel Hernandez struggled through a 36-pitch scoreless first inning, Bortles opened the second with a solo home run, his fourth of the season to take a 1-0 lead. The Whitecaps added single runs in the next two innings highlighted by Luke Sherley's run-scoring triple in the fourth. Fort Wayne tallied their only run in the seventh on a West Michigan fielding error, but the 'Caps pitching staff forced the TinCaps to strand 13 baserunners in the ballgame.
Hernandez labored through two scoreless innings, throwing 50 pitches before he departed. Endrys Briceno (2-1) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to earn his second victory of the season. Billy Lescher pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save. Lefty Drew Crosby made his Whitecaps debut allowing an unearned run in three scoreless innings. The Whitecaps become the only playoff-eligible Eastern Division team over .500 at 24-23 in the second half and 60-57 overall, retaining the first potential playoff spot in the Eastern Division second-half standings. Fort Wayne falls to 53-63 on the season and 21-26 in the second half. The West Michigan pitching staff has allowed just five runs during the first four games of their seven-game road trip. The Whitecaps went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the contest and are now hitless in 27 at-bats with those parameters during the past four matches.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps seven-game road trip continues Sunday afternoon against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at 1:05 pm. Pitcher Carson Lance makes his Whitecaps debut against TinCaps righty Luis Patiño. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:55 pm. Tickets are available for any Whitecaps 2018 home contest by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or by visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
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