Fort Wayne TinCaps (24-23) @ Lake County Captains (27-20)
RHP J.C. Cosme (3-2, 3.25) vs. LHP Thomas Pannone (3-3, 3.21)
Friday, May 26 — Classic Park (Eastlake, Ohio) — First Pitch 6:30 p.m. — Game 48
LAST NIGHT: After trailing 3-0 through 6 innings, the TinCaps rallied late for a 5-3 win at Lansing to avoid being swept. Jhonatan Peña broke a 3-3 tie in the ninth with a 2-run homer. That was after Austin Allen tied it earlier in the inning with a solo homer. Michael Gettys made it a 1-run game with a solo shot in the eighth. Peña put the TinCaps on the board in the seventh with a groundout.
ROSTER MOVES: The Padres have transferred right-handed reliever Emmanuel Ramirez from Fort Wayne to Extended Spring Training. San Diego also has added righty reliever Blake Rogers to the TinCaps’ roster from the Advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm. (See Page 8 for more on Rogers.)
ON THIS DAY: In 1993, Fort Wayne Wizard Rene Lopez hit for the cycle against the Beloit Brewers at Memorial Stadium in Fort Wayne. Lopez, then a 22-year-old catcher, went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Amazingly, he followed that up with a 6-for-6 performance in his next game. No Wizard or TinCap has hit for the cycle since. No Wizard or TinCap had a 6-hit game again until Ruddy Giron did it here last year on May 18. Lopez, a California native, made it up to Triple-A in the Twins’ organization, but never played in the major leagues.
POWER SURGE: The TinCaps hit a season-high 3 home runs Thursday. Previously, Fort Wayne had hit 2 homers on April 9 and 11.
CALL IT A COMEBACK: Thursday’s victory was the TinCaps’ 10th come-from-behind win of the season. It was the fourth time Fort Wayne trailed at the end of 8 innings and rallied to win.
PEÑA’S BIG NIGHT: Through his first 27 games of the season, outfielder Jhonatan Peña had 3 RBIs. He drove in 2 on Opening Night and another on April 26. Then on Wednesday at Lansing, Peña plated a pair in the ninth. He followed that up with a 3-RBI game last night, which included a go-ahead 2-run homer in the ninth, his first home run since Aug. 5 last year in the Arizona League.
DOUBLE ‘A’ GOES DEEP: Catcher Austin Allen homered in his 10th at-bat of the season. He then went 109 at-bats without a homer until his ninth-inning shot last night tied the game. Allen’s 3-hit game was his first multi-hit game since May 12 and his first 3-hit game since April 11. Allen also doubled on Thursday. It was the first time since April 9 that he had multiple extra-base hits in a game.
GETTYS STAYS HOT: Center fielder Michael Gettys is riding a season-long 10-game on-base streak. Over the last 10 games, Gettys is 14-for-33 (.424 average) with 5 runs and 6 RBIs. He’s hit 1 homer, 3 triples, and 1 double (.727 slugging), while swiping 5 bases, drawing 4 walks, and being hit by 2 pitches (.525 on-base).
PITCHING ON POINT: The TinCaps’ 3.00 ERA is the lowest in the Eastern Division. Over the last 12 games, Fort Wayne’s 5 starters have allowed a total of 12 earned runs in 64 innings (1.69 ERA). This excludes Angel Mejia’s spot start on May 14.
AMONG THE BEST: TinCaps position players are among the Midwest League leaders in the following categories…
· Batting Average: Austin Allen (.336) — 3rd
· On-Base Percentage: Austin Allen (.418) — 4th
· Games: Michael Gettys (46) — 1st
· Runs Scored: Michael Gettys (28) — T-4th
· Stolen Bases: Michael Gettys (20) — T-1st
· Hit By Pitch: Michael Gettys & Ty France (8) — 1st
· Outfield Assists: Michael Gettys (10) — T-1st
