TinCaps Baseball: Lugs Trump Caps
LANSING, Mich. – TinCaps third baseman Hudson Potts and left fielder Jorge Oña both had two hits on Sunday afternoon, but Fort Wayne lost to the Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto Blue Jays), 5-1, at Cooley Law School Stadium.
Both Potts and Oña now have 31 multi-hit games this season, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr., who had 35 multi-hit games in Fort Wayne this season before being promoted to Double-A San Antonio last week.
Fort Wayne (39-24, 65-68) took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Potts led off the frame with a double and moved to third base because of a throwing error on an attempt to pick Potts off at second. Two batters later, Oña singled to center field, scoring Potts for a 1-0 TinCaps edge.
Lansing (23-40, 60-69) broke through on the scoring sheet in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Kevin Vicuña doubled off the left-field wall to score both runners and give Lansing a 2-1 lead.
The Lugnuts added to their lead in the sixth. Back-to-back singles for Lansing put runners on first and second with no outs. David Jacob followed with a double into right field to score Joshua Palacios from second, giving the Lugnuts a 3-1 advantage. Two batters later, a Yeltsin Gudiño single brought home Nash Knight from third for a 4-1 lead. Ridge Smith continued the inning with a single to center field that scored David Jacob from third base to make the score 5-1.
TinCaps starting pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez (L) was strong through his first four innings on the mound, allowing just one hit and one walk, but Hernandez struggled in the next two frames. In all, the 19-year-old Cuban allowed eight hits and four earned runs in 5 and 1/3 innings pitched while striking out six batters.
Lansing starting pitcher Juliandry Higuera allowed an unearned run in five innings of work. Higuera struck out five and did not walk anyone. In fact, the TinCaps didn’t manage any walks against the Lugnuts.