Fort Wayne TinCaps (18-24 – 6th, 54-58) @ Lansing Lugnuts (20-22 – 4th, 56-56)
RHP J.C. Cosme (8-5, 3.61) vs. RHP Justin Maese (1-1, 3.22)
Monday, Aug. 7 — Cooley Law School Stadium — First Pitch 2:05 p.m. — Game 113
LAST NIGHT: Fort Wayne fell to Lansing, 7-4. The Lugnuts raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first. While the TinCaps responded with a pair of runs in the second, that’s as close as they’d get.
ROSTER MOVES: The Padres have transferred righty Angel Mejia, who started last night and took the loss, back to Short Season-A Tri-City. In exchange, right-handed reliever Will Stillman has returned to Fort Wayne from Tri-City. Stillman was added to the TinCaps’ roster last Monday, pitched on Tuesday, and sent to Tri-City on Wednesday.
RUDDY’S RESURGENCE: Over the last month-plus, shortstop Ruddy Giron has looked like the player who Baseball America ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the MWL last year. Since July 3, Giron is slashing .313/.374/.420 with 9 doubles, a homer, and 8 RBIs.
ALLEN’S HITTING STREAK: With 4 singles on Friday night, catcher Austin Allen stretched the longest active hitting streak in the Midwest League to 20 games. Fort Wayne’s franchise record for consecutive games with a hit is 23 (Sean Burroughs, 1999). During the stretch that goes back to July 10, Allen is 32-for-80 (.400) with 2 homers and 15 RBIs. It’s the third longest streak in the MWL this year, and the longest ever by a TinCaps (from 2009 on).
GARCIA GETS GOING: Right fielder Alan Garcia had 2 hits last night following a 3-hit game on Friday night. It’s the first time this season Garcia has had multiple hits in consecutive games.
PLAYOFFS IN SIGHT: Fort Wayne has won 8 of its last 11 games, while wild card-leading Lansing has dropped 9 of 12, allowing the TinCaps to pick up 5 games in the standings and close to within 2 games of the division’s final playoff spot. (See standings below.)
IN CONTROL: TinCaps pitchers have issued the fewest walks per 9 innings in the league this season, just 283 in 988.1 IP (2.58 / 9 IP). Fort Wayne pitchers have also hit the fewest batters in the MWL, 30.
ADVANCED STATS: The following TinCaps are among the best in the Midwest League, according to FanGraphs.com…
– BB/K: Peter Van Gansen (0.78) – 2nd
– Isolated Power: Brad Zunica (.180) – 7th
– BABIP: Brad Zunica (.368) – Tied 8th
EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF WILD CARD RACE
Team W-L GB
Lansing 19-22 —
Great Lakes 18-23 1.5
Fort Wayne 18-24 2.0
Lake County 16-25 3.5
Dayton 14-28 6.0
