MIDLAND, MI - Elvin Rodriguez made one mistake, and it cost him a victory as the West Michigan Whitecaps offense fell asleep after a two-run first inning in a 3-2 loss to the Great Lakes Loons Tuesday at Dow Diamond.Rodriguez, who came into Tuesday's start with a 0.78 ERA in
MIDLAND, MI - Elvin Rodriguez made one mistake, and it cost him a victory as the West Michigan Whitecaps offense fell asleep after a two-run first inning in a 3-2 loss to the Great Lakes Loons Tuesday at Dow Diamond.
Rodriguez, who came into Tuesday's start with a 0.78 ERA in his last four starts, entered the fifth inning with a 2-1 lead before giving up a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run by Loons infielder Marcus Chiu to give the Loons the advantage they'd never relinquish. The loss marks the first time the Whitecaps have lost to the Loons this season in 11 games (10-1) and sends the Whitecaps to an under .500 record at 32-33 for the first time this season.
The 'Caps opened the game with RBI-doubles by Jose Azocar and Colby Bortles to take a 2-0 lead, but a run-scoring double by Moises Perez put the Loons on the board in the third and bring the score to 2-1. In the fifth, Chiu's home run turned the tables of the contest in an instant, his eighth of the season to take a 3-2 lead. The Whitecaps failed to get a runner farther than first base in any inning after the first.
Rodriguez (4-3) takes his third loss despite recording a quality start of six innings and three runs (two earned) while striking out five. Max Gamboa (2-4) was sensational in five scoreless innings to record his second victory of the year. The last-place Loons improve to 23-40 with the win. Azocar and Alexis Garcia each had two hits in the loss, but Garcia followed his base hits by being picked off in the second and running into fair territory after legging out an infield single, for which he was tagged out in the fifth.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this series against the Great Lakes Loons on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. Pitcher Jesus Rodriguez gets the start for the Whitecaps. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:55 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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