Fort Wayne Keeps On Rolling [VIDEO]
FORT WAYNE – The first-place TinCaps beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 10-4, on Friday night for their sixth consecutive win and 11th in a row at home. A second straight sell-out crowd, and 18th on the season, of 8,095 fans got to see it at Parrrkview Field on Pirates Night.
The matchup, the first of the season between the two, pitted together a couple of hot teams, as the Kernels came in winners of four of their last five. Sure enough, it was a back-and-forth tilt to start.
Cedar Rapids (27-20, 68-49) ended Fort Wayne’s stretch off 22 consecutive scoreless innings with a run in the first. The TinCaps, though, tied the game in the home half when center fielder Michael Gettys tripled and shortstop Ruddy Giron singled him home.
The Kernels retook the lead with a three-run (two earned) second. But again, the home team equalized immediately. Catcher Jose Ruiz scored on a wild pitch and Gettys plated a pair with a double.
Fort Wayne (30-17, 62-53) went in front with two in the fourth as second baseman Luis Urias hit an RBI double and Giron delivered another run-scoring single.
The TinCaps then broke the game open with a four-run sixth. Left fielder Edwin Moreno tripled and came in on a wild pitch, Giron brought in Gettys on a groundout, and first baseman Luis Tejada tagged a two-run single.
On the mound, Ernesto Montas (W, 10-6) recovered after his first two frames for a six-inning, quality start. After him, T.J. Weir (1.0 IP) and Taylor Cox (2.0 IP) finished it off.
Kernels starter Randy Rosario (L, 1-4) was done by the fifth.
Fort Wayne, which leads West Michigan by 1 ½ games for first place in the Eastern Division, is 14-2 over its last 16 games. During this stretch, the team’s bullpen has yielded just four runs in 50 2/3 (0.71 ERA).
The TinCaps host the Kernels again on Saturday night at 7:05, as Chris Huffman (6-6, 3.30) goes up against Sam Gibbons (6-2, 2.94). The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1380, TinCaps.com, and the TuneIn Radio app, and watched on Comcast Network 81.