FORT WAYNE, In — The West Michigan Whitecaps led at two different points in a back-and-forth contest but couldn’t hold either lead as part of an 8-7 Fourth of July loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps Tuesday evening in front of 8,516 fans at Parkview Field.
The Whitecaps bullpen, which combined to allow just one run through seven innings with no walks, registering seven strikeouts and holding the Dayton Dragons to an 0-for-9 mark with runners in scoring position on Sunday, gave up five runs in 4.2 frames on Tuesday, including a walk-off two-run single for Nerwillian Cedeno against Elvis Alvarado in the bottom of the ninth.
Jace Jung opened the game with an RBI-double, and Izaac Pacheco collected a run-scoring single to help West Michigan take a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the ‘Caps lost that advantage as Fort Wayne tallied three runs, highlighted by a run-scoring triple from Cedeno and RBI-singles by Albert Fabian and Jackson Merrill to take a 3-2 TinCaps lead. The teams traded runs in the fifth on run-scoring singles from Roberto Campos and Cedeno, one of two Fort Wayne hitters with a four-hit performance. In the sixth, Marcos Castanon delivered a two-run double to open a 6-3 Fort Wayne edge, but the ‘Caps rallied with three in the seventh. Run-scoring singles by Eliezer Alfonzo and Dom Johnson evened the score at six. In the ninth, Austin Murr delivered the ‘Caps the lead with a two-out, go-ahead RBI-triple to give West Michigan a 7-6 advantage. In the bottom of the frame, Alvarado entered and failed to retire any of the three hitters he faced, ending with Cedeno’s walk-off single to give Fort Wayne the victory to open the six-game series.
The Whitecaps fall to 37-38 and 5-5 in the second half, while the TinCaps improve to 39-37 and 7-3 in the second half. Alvarado (0-1) gets his first loss since rejoining the Whitecaps, while Fort Wayne’s Keegan Collett (2-4) picks up the win after 2.1 frames of one-run work. San Diego Padres Top Prospect Jackson Merrill enjoyed a 4-for-5 performance at the plate in the win. Pacheco went 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of RBI in a losing cause.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series with the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Parkview Field on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. The Whitecaps throw pitcher Wilkel Hernandez against TinCaps southpaw Austin Krob. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty [twitter.com] begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network beginning at 6:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com [whitecapsbaseball.com].
