Fort Wayne TinCaps (25-40 – 7th, 61-74) vs. Great Lakes Loons (32-32 – 3rd, 61-73)
RHP Jake Nix (3-7, 3.84) vs. RHP Jordan Sheffield (0-1, 4.50)
Friday, Sept. 2 — Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 137
LAST NIGHT: In eventful fashion, the TinCaps beat the Loons, 5-4, in 10 innings. Fort Wayne had a 2-0 lead through eight only to see Great Lakes tie it in the ninth and then jump in front, 4-2, in the 10th. Chris Baker hit a bases-clearing double for the walk-off.
THIS IS IT: Tonight marks the final game of the season at Parkview Field. Through the first 69 games (67 openings as a result of 2 rainouts), the TinCaps have drawn 406,104 fans. That’s an average of 6,061 per opening. It looks like the organization will set a few franchise records this evening. The current record for regular season attendance is 406,715 (2014) and the mark for overall attendance (regular season + playoffs) is 411,028 (also 2014). The highest ever average attendance for a season is 5,971 (2015).
A LOOK BACK: The TinCaps played their first home game of the season at Parkview Field on Saturday, April 9. Snow fell early that morning, covering the field, although it did disappear in time for Fort Wayne to host Lake County at 6:05 that evening. The TinCaps won the game, 9-5, and wound up winning their first five home games. Only Austin Allen, J.C. Cosme, Jake Nix, Jhonatan Peña,and Brad Zunica have remained on the active roster all season. Logan Allen, Emmanuel Ramirez, Austin Smith, Kodie Tidwell,and Peter Van Gansen are currently active, and were then, too, but along the way spent at least some time on the Disabled List or at another level in the Padres’ organization. The TinCaps have even had changes at hitting coach, first base coach, and athletic trainer.
HOME/ROAD: The TinCaps are 37-32 at home this year, compared to 25-42 on the road. As a team, Fort Wayne has hit .258 and averaged 4.2 runs per game at home versus .230 and 3.4 on the road. With that said, the TinCaps have only hit 25 home homers, while going deep 48 times on the road. Pitching-wise, the TinCaps have a 3.56 ERA at home and a 3.79 mark on the road. Fort Wayne finishes the season on the road at Bowling Green over the weekend.
WELCOME ABOARD: Lefty Joey Lucchesi is expected to piggyback Jake Nix tonight. Lucceshi was added to the roster yesterday from Short Season-A Tri-City. When he appears, he’ll be the 61st different TinCap this season (25 position players, 31 pitchers). See Page 3 for more on San Diego’s fourth round pick in June.
PRIMETIME PITCHING MATCHUP: While Nix, who’s ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Padres’ farm system by MLB.com, goes for the TinCaps tonight, the Loons start Jordan Sheffield, who MLB.com tabs as the No. 8 prospect for the Dodgers.
WALK-OFF WINS: Last night was the eighth walk-off win of the season for the TinCaps and their fifth over the last 17 games here. See Page 9 for a recap of all the walk-offs this year.
