De La Rosa Caps Cycle with Walkoff Homer
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – West Michigan Whitecaps outfielder Eric De La Rosa propelled the 'Caps past the Dayton Dragons 12-10 before falling 5-3 Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark. WATCH: DE LA ROSA WALKS IT OFF, HITS FOR CYCLE De La Rosa hit for the cycle as he blasted a two-run
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – West Michigan Whitecaps outfielder Eric De La Rosa propelled the 'Caps past the Dayton Dragons 12-10 before falling 5-3 Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
WATCH: DE LA ROSA WALKS IT OFF, HITS FOR CYCLE
De La Rosa hit for the cycle as he blasted a two-run walk-off home run - the first game-winning homer since Lance Durham on May 26th, 2013.
The Whitecaps and Dragons started in the sixth inning of their seven-inning contest that was suspended back on June 25th, with Dayton leading 7-4. The Dragons added a single run in the seventh before West Michigan responded with four runs to tie the game – highlighted by a Trei Cruz two-run double – to send the game into extras tied at 8-8. Dayton plated two runs in the top half of the eighth to forge in front 10-8. West Michigan leveled the game with two of their own before De La Rosa delivered the walk-off winner, putting an exclamation point on the victory.
West Michigan jumped on the board first in game two, plating a pair in the fifth highlighted by a Jose King RBI-single to take a 2-0 lead. A bases-loaded walk crossed the Dragons first run in the sixth before adding two more in the top half of the eighth to take the lead, 3-2. Rivera tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the eighth, but the 'Caps were unable to hold the advantage as the Dragons struck for two runs in the ninth to steal the series finale by a score of 5-3.
Whitecaps reliever Bryce Tassin (1-2) collected his first victory in game one going just one inning while allowing a run on a pair of hits and a strikeout. Dragons bullpen arm Braxton Roxby (1-2) gave up two runs on three hits in the loss. Dayton closer Pedro Garcia (4-1) allowed one run through two innings in his fourth victory of the year in the regularly scheduled game. Whitecaps relief arm Zack Hess (0-3) gave up two runs through 1.2 innings in his third loss of 2021. The Whitecaps are now 22-24 on the season as the Dragons move to 27-20. De La Rosa becomes the first Whitecap to hit for the cycle since Ulrich Bojarski accomplished the feat against the Burlington Bees back on May 5th, 2019.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps begin a six-game roadtrip against the Peoria Chiefs on Tuesday at 7:35 pm. West Michigan sends righty Garrett Hill off the injured list to start on the mound against the Chiefs top-ranked offense. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:20 pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.