Fort Wayne TinCaps (43-24, 75-60) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (31-34, 68-67)

RHP Chris Huffman (9-6, 3.42) vs. RHP Hyrum Formo (5-5, 4.35)

Saturday, September 5, 2015 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 136

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat the West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-1, at Fifth Third Ballpark.

EASTERN DIVISION CHAMPS: With Friday night’s win, the TinCaps clinched the Eastern Division second half title. Since Fort Wayne joined the Midwest League in 1993, it’s only the fifth time the organization has finished in first place at the end of a half, and it’s the first time the TinCaps have done so since 2009. A brief history…

· 1995 Second Half

· 2003 First Half

· 2009 First Half

· 2009 Second Half

BEST OVERALL RECORD IN DIVISION: It has no bearing on the playoffs, but with a single TinCaps win or a Whitecaps loss this weekend, the TinCaps will lock up the best overall record in the division this season. It’d be a nice feather in the cap of a team that at one point in the first half was 13 games below .500 (12-25) and as many as 10.5 games behind Lansing (currently in third).

10-WIN CLUB: Should Chris Huffman earn a victory tonight, he’ll join Thomas Dorminy (11) and Ernesto Montas (12) in the 10-win club. The only other time Fort Wayne had a trio of 10-game winners was in 2009 (Erik Davis 16, Simon Castro 10, Stiven Osuna 10).

ALUMNI REPORT: 2011 TinCaps catcher Rocky Gale was called up by the Padres from Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday, making him the 142nd Fort Wayne alum to reach the big leagues. The 141st, and a teammate of Gale’s in ‘11, Rico Noel made his MLB debut Friday in the outfield for the Yankees against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

PLAYOFFS: The TinCaps will play at West Michigan in Game 1 of their best-of-3 series Wednesday. Games 2 and, if necessary, 3 are at Parkview Field Thursday and Friday at 7:05. Tickets are on sale at TinCapsTickets.com and the Parkview Field Ticket Office or by calling 260-482-6400.