TinCaps winning streak ends in odd fashion
It s not often a player who goes 1 for 2 with a double, two walks and three stolen bases could be said to have had a rough night, but that s what happened to TinCaps center-fielder Reinaldo Ilarraza tonight.
Ilarraza was involved in two of the biggest plays of the game and neither of them went Fort Wayne s way in a 4-3 loss to the Dayton Dragons at Parkview Field that snapped a three-game winning streak and sent the TinCaps sliding back into fifth place in the High-A Central East Division.
Ilarraza s first moment in the spotlight came in the top of the seventh. With the game tied at 1, the first pitch of the inning was sent deep to center off the bat of Quin Cotton. Ilarraza seemed to lose the ball in the lights, standing almost still in center, looking at the sky for the ball but unable to locate it before it landed 25 feet behind him on the warning track as Cotton raced to third with a triple. One pitch later, a sacrifice fly gave the D
TinCaps lose to Dayton, 5-3, split series | Full Count journalgazette.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journalgazette.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
TinCaps take nine walks in 7-3 win over Dayton
Big hits are good, but they re even better when they come after a walk or two.
The Dayton Dragons gave up eight hits and nine walks as the TinCaps won 7-3, extending their winning streak to three games. Fort Wayne has now won five of its last six games and 10 of its last 15.
The TinCaps also had two batters hit by pitches. The number of free passes in a single game actually isn t a season record for the TinCaps, but it does continue a trend for Fort Wayne, which entered the game trailing only Cedar Rapids in that category.
Pregame: TinCaps (31-37) vs. Dayton (37-30)
The TinCaps win over Dayton on Wednesday, in which Fort Wayne clubbed 15 hits and a season-high nine extra-base hits, felt like a breakthrough after a week of muddling through offensively. The TinCaps put together good at-bats all night, working deep counts, fouling off tough pitches and not trying to do too much. The result was a 9-3 win over the division-leading Dragons and a chance to build some momentum in this important series.
In order to turn that one good performance into a string of good games, the TinCaps will have to stay locked in at the plate – Grant Little said there was a different feeling in the dugout Wednesday and he was hopeful it could carry over – but they ll also need another solid performance from their bullpen. Fort Wayne s relievers went six innings and gave up just one run on four hits, keeping the Dragons from even thinking about a late-inning comeback after the TinCaps pushed across a combined seven runs i
TinCaps beat Dayton, 9-3, behind big offensive night | Full Count journalgazette.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journalgazette.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.