Fort Wayne TinCaps (22-15, 54-51) @ Burlington Bees (14-23, 49-57)
RHP Chris Huffman (5-6, 3.52) vs. RHP Keynan Middleton (5-7, 4.71)
Tuesday, August 4, 2015 — Community Field (Burlington, Iowa) — First Pitch 7:30 p.m. — Game 106
ABOUT LAST GAME: For the third day in a row at Parkview Field on Sunday, the first-place TinCaps beat the West Michigan Whitecaps in walk-off fashion, 3-2. Franmil Reyes singled home Rey Bruguera with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
FIRST PLACE: With their sweep of West Michigan, the TinCaps now lead the Whitecaps by 2.5 games for first place in the MWL Eastern Division with 33 games remaining in the regular season.
WINNING STREAK: The TinCaps now have won six consecutive games, making it their longest winning streak of the season. The last time they had a streak of six consecutive wins or more was when the team won nine straight from June 2-11 in 2013. The franchise record for consecutive wins is 10, which happened twice in 2009 (April 9-19, July 1-10). That year the TinCaps went on to win the Midwest League Championship Series against Burlington in a three-game sweep.
WALK-OFF STREAK: All three of the TinCaps’ wins over the Whitecaps over the weekend were in walk-off fashion. Fort Wayne now has eight walk-off wins on the season — the same number the club had in all of 2014. For more on the team’s thrilling finishes, see Page 9. By the way, while it won’t be possible to continue the streak here on the road, the MLB record for most consecutive walk-offs is five — set by the 1986 Astros.
ROSTER MOVE: After he started for the TinCaps on the mound Sunday, Michael Kelly found out Tuesday morning that he was being promoted by the Padres to the Advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League. To take his spot in the rotation, San Diego has sent right-handed starter Ernesto Montas back to the TinCaps from the Storm. Montas was with Fort Wayne all season until being called up on July 24. The 24-year-old left as the team’s leader in wins (9) and ERA among starters (3.28), and was tied for most games started (18) and innings pitched (96.0). However, in California, he went 0-2 in three starts with an 11.57 ERA. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Kelly departs with a 5-3 record and 4.46 ERA across 13 starts.
MWL EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF PLAYOFF PICTURE:
Place Team W-L GB GB Wild Card
1. FORT WAYNE 22-15 — —
2. West Michigan 19-17 2.5 —
3. Bowling Green 19-18 3.0 0.5
4. Lansing* 19-18 3.0 0.5
5. Lake County 18-18 3.5 1.0
6. South Bend 18-19 4.0 1.5
7. Dayton 17-20 5.0 2.5
8. Great Lakes** 15-22 7.0 4.5
* First Half Division Winner ** First Half Wild Card Winner
