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‘Caps Fall on Friday

July 22, 2022

MIDLAND, MI – Catcher Diego Cartaya, one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball, slammed a two-run homer as the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Great Lakes Loons in front of 4,620 fans Friday at Dow Diamond by a score of 12-2. Cartaya, the No. 13 prospect in

MIDLAND, MI – Catcher Diego Cartaya, one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball, slammed a two-run homer as the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Great Lakes Loons in front of 4,620 fans Friday at Dow Diamond by a score of 12-2.

Cartaya, the No. 13 prospect in Major League Baseball and No. 1 minor leaguer in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, blasted his sixth home run in his 30th game of the season as a Loon as Great Lakes took the first game after the Major League All-Star break. Cartaya finished the contest with four runs batted in. The Whitecaps pitching staff also hit a season-high four Loons batters in the defeat.

The Whitecaps scored first in the opening frame, as Austin Murr’s run-scoring double plated Ryan Kriedler to give West Michigan a 1-0 lead. The Loons responded with a four-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Kekai Rios to take a 4-1 advantage. In the fourth, Ben Malgeri launched his third home run of the season with a 431-foot solo blast to bring the deficit to 4-2. Great Lakes blew the contest open in the fifth and sixth innings against West Michigan relievers Ted Stuka and Andrew Shaps, as Cartaya launched his two-run shot and four walks highlighted a three-run sixth to help the Loons coast to a Friday night victory.

Loons lefty pitcher Ben Harris (1-0) earns the victory in relief, while ‘Caps starter Keider Montero (5-5) suffered his fifth loss of the season after giving up four runs in four innings in a losing cause. The Whitecaps fall to 47-41 and 16-6 in the second half. The Loons improve to 20 games over .500 at 54-34 and 14-8 in the second half. Kreidler, the Detroit Tigers No. 6 Prospect by MLB Pipeline, joined the club before the contest as part of a minor league rehab assignment, going 0-for-2 with a walk, two stolen bases and a run scored. Murr and Malgeri each collected a pair of hits with an RBI in a losing cause.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps continue this three-game series at Dow Diamond against the Great Lakes Loons on Saturday at 7:05 pm. The starting pitchers for the contest are lefty Brant Hurter and righty Nick Nastrini for the Whitecaps and Loons, respectively. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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