Fort Wayne TinCaps (30-36) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (37-31)
RHP Ernesto Montas (5-4, 3.92) vs. RHP Hyrum Formo (4-1, 4.45)
Saturday, June 20, 2015 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 67
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 5-2, in the opener of their three-game series at Parkview Field.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The TinCaps eliminated Bowling Green from first-half Eastern Division playoff contention on Friday night. Entering Monday, the Hot Rods led Lansing by a game for the best record in the division, but they’ve since lost five in a row. Lansing (40-28) has already secured a playoff spot, while Great Lakes (38-28) is currently in position for the wild card. The Lugnuts have a one-game lead on the Loons. Those two teams play tonight and tomorrow in Lansing. Lake County (36-30) is also alive but would need to win their final two games at Dayton and have Great Lakes lose both of their games.
ROSTER MOVE: The Padres moved catcher Miguel Del Castillo up to Advanced-A Lake Elsinore on Saturday. To replace him, San Diego has sent catcher Michael Miller to Fort Wayne. Miller (not to be confused with Ryan Miller, who was the TinCaps’ primary catcher last year), 23, was drafted by the Padres in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Dallas Baptist. The 6-foot-2 native of Mansfield, TX, played 10 games for Lake Elsinore this season from May 29-June 9. Miller spent the last two seasons with Short-Season A Eugene.
BIG NIGHT FOR FORT WAYNE ALUMS: On Friday night in Atlanta, 2012 TinCaps pitcher Matt Wisler made his MLB debut for the Braves against the Mets. The Bryan, OH, product allowed only one run over eight innings. He earned the win thanks to his old TinCaps teammate, second baseman Jace Peterson, who hit a two-run double in the eighth that lifted the Braves to a 2-1 victory. Meanwhile, Wisler’s catcher was 1995-96 Wizard A.J. Pierzynski. New York’s lone run was driven in by ’98 Wizard Michael Cuddyer. Elsewhere on Friday, 2012-13 TinCaps pitcher Joe Ross earned a win for the Nationals as he struck out 11 batters and yielded just a run in 7 1/3 innings. After debuting in Washington two weeks ago today, the 22-year-old Ross is now 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA. Since 1994, Fort Wayne has produced 136 major leaguers, including five who’ve earned a call up to The Show so far this season.
TONIGHT’S STARTING LINEUP
1. #1 Michael Gettys CF — Two hits Friday; first multi-hit game since June 4.
2. #12 Ruddy Giron SS — Two hits Friday; 14th multi-hit game in 32 games.
3. #10 Nick Torres RF — His 23 doubles are tied for 2nd most in all of MiLB.
4. #16 Trae Santos 1B* — Drew team-leading 24th walk of the season Friday.
5. #34 Franmil Reyes DH — Has reached base in 15 of his last 16 games.
6. #22 Franchy Cordero LF* — Hitting .315 in June with 1 HR and 5 RBI.
7. #25 Luis Tejada 3B — Has hit safely in each of first three games this year.
8. #21 Jose Ruiz C — Has caught 30 runners attempting to steal; 3rd in MiLB.
9. #24 Chase Jensen 2B — Hasn’t committed a single error playing 2B this year
*Left-Handed Batter
