Fort Wayne TinCaps (3-1, 39-35) vs. Dayton Dragons (0-4, 21-53)
RHP J.C. Cosme (7-3, 2.88) vs. LHP Jacob Constante (2-7, 5.25)
Monday, June 27 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 75
LAST NIGHT: Fort Wayne lost on the road to the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 8-5. The TinCaps led 5-3 on the heels of a 2-run homer by Jhonatan Peña and a 3-run shot by Carlos Belen, but the Hot Rods turned the tables with a 5-run bottom of the 5th as Fort Wayne fell short of a 4-game series sweep.
PEÑA’S HOME RUN STREAK: Outfielder Jhonatan Peña has homered in 4 consecutive games — the first player in TinCaps history to do so. The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic had 1 homer in his first 50 games of the season before blasting a solo shot on Thursday, another solo blast on Friday, a 3-run homer on Saturday, and yesterday’s 2-run long ball.
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN IT?It may not be this simple, but hitting coach Vinny Lopez recently had Peña watch video of Seattle Mariners outfielder Nelson Cruz. As a result, Peña has adjusted his batting stance from being slightly closed to slightly opened.
SOME CONTEXT: The Major League record for consecutive games with a home run is 8. That mark is shared by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987), and Dale Long (1956). Only 20 players in MLB history have homered in 6 straight games, including Daniel Murphy during the 2015 Playoffs. Peña is the only player in the Minors or Majors who has homered each of the last 4 days. However, a former TinCap, catcher Austin Hedges, who played in Fort Wayne in 2012, has homered in 5 games in a row for Triple-A El Paso, going back to Tuesday.
CONTAGIOUS POWER: Peña wasn’t the only TinCap to go deep at Bowling Green. Fort Wayne hit 11 home runs over the 4-game set. The TinCaps hit 27 homers over the 1st 70 games of the year. Fort Wayne is now on pace for 192 homers in the 2nd half…
ON-BASE STREAK ENDS: Kodie Tidwell’s 31-game on-base streak — the longest in the Midwest League this season — ended Sunday as he went 0-for-5. Tidwell’s streak was the longest active streak in both the Minors and Majors. Over the stretch that started on May 13, Tidwell hit .286 with a .393 on-base percentage, doubling 8 times, tripling once, and homering 3 times. Tidwell scored 20 runs and drove in 12, while walking 20 times. Maybe most impressively, Tidwell played 2B, 3B, SS, LF, RF, and DH-ed during the streak.
PARKVIEW FIELD PROMOTIONS
– Tonight: Jaylon Smith, Jake the Diamond Dog, US Foods Family Feast*
– Wednesday: Splash Day
– Thursday: Video Game Night, Thirsty Thursday pres. by Rudy’s*
