Fort Wayne TinCaps (9-13, 45-47) vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels (12-10, 48-43)
RHP Austin Smith (2-5, 4.66) vs. RHP Sam Gibbons (3-3, 5.53)
Saturday, July 16 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 6:35 p.m. — Game 93
LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps lost the rubber match of a 3-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits, 2-1. Quad Cities scored an unearned run in the first and again in the third, while Fort Wayne only mustered a run in the second on a Tyler Moore RBI groundout.
TALENT RICH ROSTER: The Padres traded All-Star starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox on Thursday in exchange for 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza, who’s now the No. 1 prospect in San Diego’s system and the No. 15 prospect in all of the Minors, per Baseball America. Fort Wayne’s roster currently features 10 of the Top 30 Padres Prospects (see bottom right), while 3 others were with the TinCaps earlier this season before receiving promotions to Advanced-A Lake Elsinore (OF Michael Gettys, RHP Phil Maton, RHP Enyel De Los Santos).
ALL-STAR ASSISTANCE: Former MLB All-Star and Gold Glove winner Steve Finley is with the TinCaps this weekend. Finley is a Special Assistant for Player Development with the Padres. He was also with Fort Wayne for a couple days on the road in May.
BIG CROWDS: After a crowd of 6,961 last night, Parkview Field has now averaged 5,839 fans per game this season, which ranks 17th out of 160 teams in Minor League Baseball. Fort Wayne’s attendance is second among Single-A clubs and greater than 27 of 30 Double-A organizations, and 13 of 30 Triple-A franchises. Tonight is expected to be the 15th sellout of the season here.
PENCE AT PARKVIEW FIELD: This morning Donald Trump announced Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate on the Republican ticket for the White House. Pence, who was just in Downtown Fort Wayne on Wednesday for the Three Rivers Festival, has made multiple visits to Parkview Field. Recently, he was here in September for an Indiana Economic Development Corp. meeting in the Tuthill 400 Club and in June 2014 when the Indiana GOP Convention held a party in the park.
ALL-EN THE WAY UP: C Austin Allen saw his batting average fall below .300 for the first time all season over the weekend. But now he’s 7-for-his-last-14 with 2 homers, raising his average back to .306.
BIG BRAD: 1B Brad Zunica hit his 11th homer of the season Wednesday night, putting him into a tie for second most in the Midwest League. Zunica, though, actually has the best HR/AB ratio in the league, homering once every 23.82 times up.
PARKVIEW FIELD PROMOTIONS
Tonight: ZOOperstars!, Three Rivers Festival Fireworks
Tomorrow: On-Field Postgame Autographs pres. by MetroPCS
Monday: US Foods Family Feast Night, Jake the Diamond Dog, Fireworks
