Fort Wayne TinCaps (15-13, 47-49) @ Bowling Green Hot Rods (14-14, 51-47)
LHP Travis Radke (MWL Debut) vs. RHP Henry Centeno (6-6, 3.98)
Friday, July 24, 2015 — Bowling Green Ballpark (Bowling Green, Ky.) — First Pitch 8:05 p.m. — Game 97
ABOUT LAST GAME: The TinCaps clobbered the Lake County Captains, 7-1, in the finale of their three-game set in Eastlake, Ohio. Fort Wayne scored two in the first, two more in the second, one in the fourth, and two more in the sixth before Lake County got its lone run in the eighth. Chris Huffman tossed six scoreless innings for the win, while center fielder Michael Gettys and shortstop Ruddy Giron led a 19-hit attack with four hits apiece. Giron, second baseman Luis Urias, and right fielder Franmil Reyes each drove in two runs.
ROSTER MOVE: The Padres promoted TinCaps right-handed starter Ernesto Montas today. There was no corresponding move. Montas, who turned 24 Saturday, leaves as Fort Wayne’s team leader in wins (9), ERA among starters (3.28), and tied for most games started (18) and innings pitched (96.0). He walked only 20 batters. His BB/9 ratio of 1.88 was 8th best in the Midwest League. His 9 wins were also tied for 3rd most in the MWL. This is Montas’ first season pitching in the U.S. after coming over from the Dominican Republic.
SPOT STARTER: Montas was scheduled to start for the TinCaps tonight. Now to fill the void, the TinCaps are turning to lefty Travis Radke, who was just added to the team’s roster yesterday from the Short-Season A Tri-City Dust Devils. Radke was drafted by the Padres last year in the 25th round out of the University of Portland. He pitched for Short-Season A Eugene last year (remember, San Diego’s Northwest League affiliation changed during the offseason). With Tri-City this season, Radke started 6 games and went 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA. With 30 strikeouts against 1 walk, he had the best BB% in the Northwest League (0.8%) and the 6th best K% (24%).
ON A HIGH: Fort Wayne’s win on Thursday broke a season-long five-game losing streak. Coincidence or not, it was the first game all season in which everyone one the team wore their dark green socks up high, including manager Francisco Morales (@fmorales60), who tweeted before the game, “When your team is in a so-called slump, you have to do something different.”
MWL EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF PLAYOFF PICTURE
Place Team W-L GB GB Wild Card
1. West Michigan 17-10 — —
T2. FORT WAYNE 15-13 2.5 —
T2. Dayton 15-13 2.5 —
T4. Bowling Green 14-14 3.5 1.0
T4. South Bend 14-14 3.5 1.0
T4. Lansing* 14-14 3.5 1.0
7. Lake County 11-16 6.0 3.5
8. Great Lakes** 11-17 6.5 4.0
* First Half Division Winner ** First Half Wild Card Winner
