Fort Wayne TinCaps (20-28 – 7th, 56-62) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (31-16 – 2nd, 68-48)
RHP Jake Nix (2-5, 4.20) vs. LHP Mike Velasquez (6-7, 4.92)
Sunday, Aug. 14 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 1:05 p.m. — Game 119
LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat Bowling Green, 2-1, in come-from-behind, and walk-off, fashion. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Austin Allen hit a game-tying sacrifice fly and Tyler Selesky hit a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth.
NEVER OUT OF IT: The TinCaps have 8 victories this season when trailing at the end of 8 innings. No one else in the Midwest League has won more than 4 games when down after 8. Of Fort Wayne’s 56 wins on the year, 26 (46%) have been coming from behind.
ALLEN’S HITTING STREAK: Catcher Austin Allen’s Fort Wayne franchise-record 24-game hitting streak ended on Saturday night. Although he finished 0-for-3, Allen still drove in the game-tying run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly. During the stretch that started on July 10, he was 37-for-94 (.394) with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 18 RBIs. His .320 average on the year ranks fourth in the league.
WALK-OFF CITY: The TinCaps now have 6 walk-off victories this season, including 3 over the last 15 days. In 2015, Fort Wayne set a franchise record with 11 walk-off wins.
SELESKY’S STORYBOOK SUMMER: After putting together a First-Team All-Atlantic Sun season at Florida Gulf Coast, Tyler Selesky went unselected in June’s 40-round MLB Draft. But since signing with the Padres as a free agent on June 16, he’s made the most of his opportunity. Selesky hit .299 in 22 games in the Arizona League and is now hitting .350 with 2 walk-off hits in his 16 games with Fort Wayne.
UNSUNG STAR: Corey Kimber earned the win out of the TinCaps bullpen on Saturday night as he threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings. It was the longest outing of his professional career. Kimber, 22, struggled initially when he was added to Fort Wayne’s roster in June, posting a 6.52 ERA in 4 first-half appearances. But his second half ERA is 2.37, and even better so far in August (1.17) through 7.2 IP. In the first half, Kimber had as many walks as he had strikeouts (7), but since the break he’s recorded 27 strikeouts and only walked 10.
BIG CROWDS: With a crowd of 7,770 on Saturday night, the TinCaps are now averaging 6,043 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 14/30 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 25-23 —
Lake County 20-27 4.5
Great Lakes 20-27 4.5
Fort Wayne 20-28 5.0
Dayton 15-33 10.0
South Bend (division winner) and West Michigan (wild card) clinched playoff spots in the first half. Bowling Green leads in the second half.
