FORT WAYNE – The TinCaps won their third straight, 5-2, after rain shortened their matchup with the Great Lakes Loons on Wednesday at Parkview Field.

Starter Ernesto Montas (W, 4-3) helped Fort Wayne (18-27) carry a three-run lead into the top of the eighth inning. That’s when the rain started to fall. Reliever Bryan Verbitsky was on the mound with two outs and a 3-2 count on the batter Ivan Vela when umpires Arturo Gonzalez and Tom Roche called for a delay.

The deluge continued to pour down for 90 minutes before the game was officially called with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Even despite the weather, 7,851 fans came out to watch the TinCaps – the fifth sellout this season and the largest crowd of the year at Parkview Field.

Montas hurled the finest start for any Fort Wayne pitcher this season. He became the first starter to go seven innings, didn’t allow an earned run and picked up win number four on the season. That’s tied with Thomas Dorminy for the club lead.

Ruddy Giron began the game with a bang in the bottom of the first inning. His third home run of the year over the left-field fence put the home team on the board. Next, Loons starter Victor Gonzalez (L, 0-4) hit Franchy Cordero with a pitch and he later scored when Franmil Reyes grounded out to the shortstop, Faustino Oguisten. It was 2-0 Fort Wayne after one.

Great Lakes (20-25) tied it up in the next half inning. Spencer Navin and Oguisten drove in runs, both unearned off of Montas.

Fort Wayne gave the right-hander from Bonao, Dominican Republic the run support he needed in the fifth inning. Jose Ruiz and Felipe Blanco smacked back-to-back base hits with one out. Then Giron drove them both in with a double down the left-field line. Two batters later, Michael Gettys plated Giron. It was Gettys’ third RBI over the last two days. The Gainesville, Georgia, native finished with two hits and Giron went 3-for-4.

The TinCaps have now won six of their last eight games, the most successful stretch of the season so far. They continue their five-game series with the Loons on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. It’s another doubleheader between the two squads, with game two following 30 minutes after the completion of game one.

Watch the action on Comcast Network 81 at 6:00 p.m., or listen in on ESPN Radio 1380, TinCaps.com, and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 5:45 p.m.