The TinCaps fell into another early deficit and came up short against the Lake County Captains, 5-2, in front of a sell-out crowd at Parkview Field.

It was the fourth sell-out this season, as 7,716 fans were in attendance on Wednesday afternoon for a Reading Program Day presented by Longe Optical. The ballpark has drawn a total of 90,320 fans over the first 18 games, a new record.

Chris Huffman was called on for his first start in a TinCaps uniform. He surrendered just one earned over four innings, but three unearned runs scored in the top of the first inning for Lake County (18-15). Dorssys Paulino and Bobby Ison drove in a pair.

After the Captains added another in the third to jump in front 4-0, Fort Wayne (10-20) answered back in the bottom of the fourth. Franmil Reyes reached to start the frame and lumbered to third base after Chase Jensen’s single. Next, Henry Charles plated Reyes after a successful sacrifice squeeze bunt.

Later in the eighth inning, Trae Santos hammered a solo home run over the right-field wall to cut the deficit to 4-2. It was his third long ball of the year. The Barrigada, Guam, native is tied for second in the Midwest League with 13 extra-base hits.

The visitors added a piece of insurance to go up 5-2 in the top of the ninth. Grant Fink singled and drove in Martin Cervenka.

TinCaps relievers Bryan Verbitsky and Taylor Cox combined to hurl three shutout innings. Verbitsky fanned three over his two innings of work.

Huffman (L, 0-1) picked up the loss for the home team while Jordan Carter (W, 1-1) secured the win out of the Lake County bullpen.