Fort Wayne TinCaps (10-19, 46-53) @ Beloit Snappers (12-17, 44-54)
Game 1: RHP Chris Paddack (2-0, 0.85) vs. LHP Evan Manarino (7-5, 2.32)
Game 2: RHP Anderson Espinoza (5-8, 4.67) vs. RHP Brendan Butler (3-1, 2.45)
Monday, July 25 — Pohlman Field — First Pitch 5:00 p.m. — Games 100 and 101
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON: The TinCaps topped Beloit, 8-7.
HOT GIRON: SS Ruddy Giron had a hit and 2 walks on Sunday, extending his current hitting streak to 6 games and his on-base streak to 16 games. His batting average now is as high as it’s been since April 19 — up 27 points over this hot stretch.
BIG BRAD BASHES: 1B Brad Zunica is second in the MWL in home runs with 14. The 20-year-old leads the league in HR/AB, going deep once every 20.64 at-bats this season. That ratio is even higher in the second half, in which he’s launched 8 long balls in 25 starts.
ALL-EN THE WAY UP: C Austin Allen delivered a single Friday to hit safely for a ninth straight game. It’s his longest hitting streak since he had an 11-gamer to begin the season. His .303 batting average leads the team and is top 10 in the Midwest League.
GREENE JR. IS MONEY: C/DH Marcus Greene Jr. hit a grand slam on Sunday — his third game in a row with a homer. Greene Jr., who prior to this had not played in 4 consecutive games, is 7-for-13 during the stretch with a double as well and 8 RBIs.
VILTER GETS ON BASE: UTIL Nick Vilter, who doubled and walked twice on Sunday, has the highest OBP (.395) on Fort Wayne’s current roster by 40 points. He doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify as a league-leader, but he’d rank third if he did.
ANOTHA ONE: Tyler Selesky, who’s set to start in Game 1 of this doubleheader in left field after he was added to the roster from the Rookie-level Peoria Padres yesterday, will be the 50th player to appear for the TinCaps this season. (The Padres used a total of 45 players in Fort Wayne all of last year.)
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: With UTIL Kodie Tidwell going on the Disabled List yesterday (back/wrist), the TinCaps are down to 6 players who have remained on the active roster since Opening Day:C Austin Allen,RHP J.C. Cosme, RHP Jacob Nix, RHP Austin Smith, OF Jhonatan Peña, and 1B Brad Zunica.
LET’S PLAY TWO: Today is Fort Wayne’s first doubleheader since May 11. The TinCaps are 2-3 in doubleheader games this season. (On May 10, the second game of a doubleheader against Great Lakes was postponed by rain.)
LOOONG GAMES: Sunday’s 3 hour, 19-minute game was Fort Wayne’s seventh consecutive contest that went at least 3 hours and 7 minutes. The last 11 TinCaps games have gone an average of 3 hours and 22 minutes.
