Fort Wayne TinCaps (19-28 – 7th, 55-62) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (31-15 – 2nd, 68-47)
RHP J.C. Cosme (8-6, 3.48) vs. RHP Jose Mujica (6-3, 3.79)
Saturday, Aug. 13— Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 118
LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat Bowling Green, 13-5.
ALLEN’S HITTING STREAK: Catcher Austin Allen extended his hitting streak to 24 games last night, establishing a new Fort Wayne franchise record. (The previous mark of 23 was set by Sean Burroughs in 1999.) Allen doubled in the fourth and singled in the sixth, while also adding a sacrifice fly. During this stretch that goes back to July 10, he’s 37-for-94 (.394) with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 18 RBIs. His .323 average on the year ranks fourth in the league.
WHAT’S NEXT: Allen’s hitting streak is now tied with Francisco Mejia (Lake County) for the longest in the league this season. The Indians then promoted the 20-year-old catcher to High-A Lynchburg, where he’s hit safely in 25 more consecutive games. So Mejia’s 49-game hitting streak is now the sixth longest in pro baseball history and the best in 62 years. Meanwhile, the Midwest League record for consecutive games hitting safely is 35 (Tony Toups, Waterloo Indians, 1977). While the longest hitting streak in MLB history is Joe DiMaggio’s 56-gamer in 1941, the minor league record of 69 was set by Joe Wilhoit in 1919 with the Wichita Jobbers (Western League).
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Allen was far from alone in having success at the plate last night. The TinCaps matched a season high with 18 hits and had their highest-scoring game since plating 14 on April 16.
LEFT-HANDERS DAY: Aug. 13 is an annual international celebration of left-handers. Fort Wayne has 3 active left-handed pitchers in José Castillo, Thomas Dorminy, and Elvin Liriano, and 5 left-handed batters in Austin Allen, Alan Garcia, Tyler Selesky, Peter Van Gansen, and Brad Zunica. A group of fans celebrating “LeftFest” will be in attendance tonight and appropriately sitting in… left field.
BIG CROWDS: With a crowd of 7,368 on Friday night, the TinCaps are now averaging 6,012 fans per game this year, which would set a new franchise record. (The previous high of 5,971 came last year.) Fort Wayne is currently outdrawing 13/30 Triple-A teams, 27/30 Double-A clubs, and ranks 2nd out of 100 in Single-A.
EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF WILD CARD RACE
Team W-L GB
Lansing 24-22 —
Lake County 20-26 4.0
Great Lakes 19-27 5.0
Fort Wayne 19-28 5.5
Dayton 14-33 10.5
South Bend (division winner) and West Michigan (wild card) clinched playoff spots in the first half. Bowling Green leads in the second half.
