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Early Duel Gives Way To Blowout Loss

August 13, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL) West Michigan Whitecaps

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - A pitcher's duel early turned into a blowout late as the West Michigan Whitecaps lost the rubber match of a three-game series, 10-4, to the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Monday afternoon at Fifth Third Ballpark.

West Michigan (24-26, 60-60) lost two out of three games over the weekend to Bowling Green (30-20, 68-52), but still claimed the season-series, 8-7, against the prospect-laden and playoff-bound Hot Rods. Eight of the 15 games in the hard-fought head-to-head series were decided by two runs or less, including memorable contests such as "The Steven Moya Game" on June 13 and "The Walk-off That Wasn't" on Saturday.

The first four innings of Monday's game were a pitching clinic starring the Whitecaps' Chad Smith and the Hot Rods' Ryan Carpenter, while the final five frames featured a combined 14 runs on 20 hits.

Smith cruised through the first four innings without allowing a hit, facing the minimum until Bowling Green broke up a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth.

Doubles by Jeff Malm and Cameron Seitzer sparked the rally and gave Bowling Green the first run of the day. As the inning continued, Kes Carter chipped in with a run-scoring single, Matt Rice crossed the plate on a wild pitch, and Jake Hager added a sacrifice fly to give the Hot Rods a commanding 4-0 lead.

The 'Caps got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Jeff McVaney singled and scored on a groundout by Pat Leyland, but the Bowling Green offense kept their foot on the gas pedal.

Seitzer started another rally in the sixth with his second double of the game. Moments later, Carter and Josh Sale stroked back-to-back RBI-singles to push the Hot Rods' lead to 6-1.

West Michigan made it a game with a seventh-inning rally, getting doubles from Jason King and Leyland and a run-scoring single by Zach Maggard to cut the deficit to 6-3.

Bowling Green put the game away with another four-run outburst in the top of the ninth, taking advantage of a depleted Whitecaps' bullpen that has been relied upon heavily in recent games. The bulk of the damage was done against reliever Nick Avila, who was magnificent in a five-out save on Sunday but allowed four straight hits before recording an out on Sunday. Avila rebounded to retire the next three batters in order, preventing the 'Caps from having to bring in starting pitcher Wilsen Palacios for emergency relief.

Ryan Carpenter (11-6) earned the win, limiting the 'Caps to two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings.

Smith (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing four runs on three hits and two walks - all of which came in his fifth and final inning of work.

Offensively, King went 3-for-4 with a double, Eugenio Suarez added a 2-for-4 afternoon, and Leyland drove in a pair of runs to highlight the Whitecaps' 10-hit attack.

The Whitecaps are off on Tuesday before starting a three-game road series against the South Bend Silver Hawks on Wednesday night 7:05 p.m. RHP Brennan Smith (2-4, 3.82) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP J.R. Bradley (6-8, 6.21) of South Bend. The next home game at Fifth Third Ballpark will be on Saturday, August 18, at 7:00 p.m. with promotions including Racing Night, a pre-game t-shirt giveaway, and a spectacular post-game fireworks show. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from August 13, 2012


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