Fort Wayne TinCaps (2-6) at Bowling Green Hot Rods (5-3)
RHP Austin Smith vs. RHP Peter Bayer
Friday, April 14, 2017— Bowling Green Ballpark — First Pitch 7:35 p.m. — Game 9
LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps were 1-hit and shut out by Bowling Green, 3-0. Logan Allen set a career high for strikeouts with 8 in 5 innings. But Fort Wayne didn’t get its first hit until there were 2 outs in the 8th and Jack Suwinski singled. The Hot Rods scored a run in the fourth and added two insurance runs in the seventh.
BECAUSE IT’S THE CUP: As the Fort Wayne Komets begin their Kelly Cup run in the ECHL Playoffs tonight, did you know Buddy Reed went to St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island, for grades 9-12 on a hockey scholarship? His coach there was Ryan Mulhern, who played briefly for the Washington Capitals during the 1997-98 season. Reed drew interest from Providence College to play hockey. (The Friars won the 2015 NCAA Tournament.)
K-INGS: TinCaps pitchers have 89 strikeouts on the season (11.1/game) — tied with Kane County for the most in the Midwest League… Individually, Jesse Scholtens leads the MWL with 17 Ks.
PATIENT: As a team, the TinCaps have drawn 35 walks this year — tied with Lansing and Great Lakes for the most in the MWL. Jack Suwinski has drawn 6 walks to lead the club.
AGGRESSIVE: The TinCaps have 10 stolen bases as a team — 3rd most in the MWL. Reinaldo Ilarraza leads the way with 3, as 6 different TinCaps have at least 1 stolen bag.
BAYER NECESSITIES: The TinCaps saw Peter Bayer at Parkview Field on Saturday. The 23-year-old right-hander held Fort Wayne to 1 run over 5 innings, as he struck out 7 and only walked 1.
ADVANCED STATS: Jack Suwinski has drawn a walk in 18% of his plate appearances (9th in the MWL)… Suwinski also has walked as many times as he’s struck out. That 1.0 BB/K ratio is 10th in the MWL… Reinaldo Ilarraza ranks 2nd in Speed Score (SpD) at 8.8. This factors in stolen base percentage, frequency of stolen base attempts, percentage of triples, and runs scored percentage… Ilarraza is also tied for 6th in Weighted Stolen Bases (wSB) at 0.6. This estimates the number of runs a player contributes to his team by stealing bases, as compared to the average player.
RECORD START AT PARKVIEW FIELD: The TinCaps have drawn more fans than ever before at Parkview Field for the first 5 games of the season. Fort Wayne has hosted 24,223 fans so far, including a crowd of 6,401 yesterday.
THE OTHER GUYS: Bowling Green’s roster features the following Top 30 Tampa Bay Rays prospects, per MLB.com… OF Josh Lowe (No. 6), OF Jesus Sanchez (No. 7), OF Garrett Whitley (No. 11), SS Lucius Fox (No. 13), and 3B/SS Adrian Rondon (No. 14).
