TinCaps Edge Chiefs
PEORIA, Ill. – The first-place TinCaps topped the Peoria Chiefs, 4-2, on Sunday night at Dozer Park. All of Fort Wayne’s runs were unearned, including two in the top of the ninth.
With the game tied, first baseman Trae Santos hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to score right fielder Franmil Reyes for what proved to be the game-winning run. Catcher Michael Miller added an RBI single that plated third baseman Luis Tejada for insurance.
Reyes drew a one-out walk against left-handed reliever Nick Lomascolo (L, 2-2). The Chiefs then went to their closer, Kyle Grana, in a non-save situation. During an 11-pitch at-bat for Tejada, he hit a foul pop-up near first base that was dropped by Peoria first baseman Alex De Leon. Given a second chance, Tejada eventually came through with a single to left field. Similarly, Santos put together a nine-pitch AB, during which Grana threw a wild pitch, allowing Reyes and Tejada each to advance a base.
Fort Wayne (26-17, 58-53) had tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the fifth inning. Santos was at first after a lead-off single against left-handed starter Dewin Perez when Miller hit a ball through the legs of Chiefs third baseman Alex Sohn. Then with two outs, center fielder Michael Gettys hit a two-run double off the wall in left field.
Peoria (28-15, 61-50) initially took a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
T.J. Weir (W, 5-3) threw a scoreless eighth inning on the heels of five frames from starter Chris Huffman and two innings from Kyle McGrath. Yimmi Brasoban (S, 7) pitched a perfect ninth.
The TinCaps have won eight of their last 10 games. They’ve come from behind in six of the eight victories. Fort Wayne leads the West Michigan Whitecaps by 1 1/2 games for first place in the Eastern Division with 27 games remaining in the regular season.
After a day off Monday, the TinCaps are set to host the team with the best record in the league this season, the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros, 29-14, 74-37), at Parkview Field on Tuesday at 7:05. The game can be seen on Comcast Network 81, and heard on ESPN Radio 1380, TinCaps.com, and the TuneIn Radio app.