Fort Wayne TinCaps (18-27 – 7th, 54-61) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (30-14 – 1st, 67-46)
RHP Anderson Espinoza (0-1, 4.26) vs. LHP Genesis Cabrera (8-4, 3.77)
Thursday, Aug. 11— Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 116
LAST GAME: Before a day off on Wednesday, the TinCaps lost at Lansing on Tuesday afternoon, 4-3, in 13 innings.
PLAY OF THE WEEK: For the second time in the last month, a TinCaps player has won Minor League Baseball’s “Play of the Week” honor. Right fielder Alan Garcia’s diving catch at South Bend last Thursday was voted by fans on MiLB.com as the Play of the Week. In July, catcher Austin Allen’s window-smashing home run at West Michigan took the honor.
MARQUEE MATCHUP: A pair of highly regarded prospects take the hill tonight. For the TinCaps, it’s righty Anderson Espinoza, who MLB.com ranks as the No. 1 prospect in the Padres’ farm system. On the other side, the Hot Rods give the ball to lefty Genesis Cabrera, who’s tabbed as the No. 22 prospect for Tampa Bay. Espinoza (Venezuela) is just 18 years old. Cabrera (Dominican Republic) is 19.
MARATHON MEN: The TinCaps have played in more extra-inning games than anyone else in the Eastern Division this year. Fort Wayne is 4-8 in extras. (That’s tied with Burlington and Peoria for the league lead in most extra-inning losses.) Over their last 27 games, the TinCaps have gone to extras 6 times. Of those, 2 have gone 15 innings and 2 others have gone 13. Not counting a pair of 7-inning games as part of a doubleheader, Fort Wayne’s last 25 games have lasted an average of 3 hours and 14 minutes. (In 2015, the average length of an MLB game was 2 hours, 56 minutes.)
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR: The TinCaps lead the Midwest League in 1-run losses. Fort Wayne is 21-25 in such games. No one else has dropped more than 22 1-run games.
ALLEN’S HITTING STREAK: Catcher Austin Allen is currently on a 22-game hitting streak, the longest active streak in the MWL. He’s 1 off the Fort Wayne franchise record of 23 — set by Sean Burroughs in 1999. During the stretch that goes back to July 10, Allen is 34-for-87 (.391) with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. For the year, his .321 average is the fifth highest in the league. (Allen’s streak is still in tact, even though he was hit by a pitch on the right hand in the first inning on Tuesday and had to leave the game, per Rule 9.23.)
EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF WILD CARD RACE
Team W-L GB
Lansing 23-22 —
Lake County 19-25 3.5
Great Lakes 18-26 4.5
Fort Wayne 18-26 4.0
Dayton 14-31 9.0
South Bend (division winner) and West Michigan (wild card) clinched playoff spots in the first half. Bowling Green leads in the second half.
