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West Michigan Whitecaps

King Homers Twice as 'Caps Continue to Climb

August 27, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


DAYTON, OH - Jason King blasted two home runs and the West Michigan Whitecaps continued to their climb up the Eastern Division standings with a 5-3 win over the Dayton Dragons on Monday night at Fifth Third Field.

West Michigan (33-30, 69-64) won for the eighth time in their last 11 games and pulled within one game of Fort Wayne with just seven contests remaining in the second-half wild card race.

The Whitecaps' second straight win over Dayton (27-34, 57-74) puts them in position to win the four-game series with a victory in the finale on Tuesday, but the Dragons will benefit from the services of rehabbing Major League All-Star and 2010 National League MVP Joey Votto.

On a night in which Dayton sent 2011 first-round pick Robert Stephenson to the mound, King's powerful performance stole the show.

After falling behind 1-0 early, West Michigan tied the game on a run-scoring groundout by Pat Leyland in the second and then seized control during a key fourth-inning rally.

King broke the 1-1 tie with his first homer of the night, a two-run blast to right-center that followed a walk by Jeff McVaney. In addition to taking a 3-1 lead, the 'Caps also chased the hard-throwing Stephenson from the game in the fourth inning. McVaney's walk was the result of an 11-pitch battle that started the rally and set the tone for a 33-pitch inning.

In the sixth, King made it a 4-1 game when he blasted a solo homer to right-center. The 23-year-old third baseman finished 3-for-4 on the night and established a new Whitecaps' season-high with nine total bases. He joined outfielder Steven Moya as the only Whitecaps to slug multi-homer games this season.

The pitching staff made sure the lead stood up.

Marcelo Carreno (8-8) earned the win with five solid innings, allowing a run in the bottom of the first and little else. He struck out seven without issuing a walk and gave up five singles, only two of which came after the opening frame.

Will Clinard worked 2.2 frames out of the bullpen before Melvin Mercedes (8) went the rest of the way for the four-out save.

The key out came in the bottom of the eighth with the 'Caps nursing a 4-2 lead. There was a runner on base and two outs when Mercedes came in to face the power-hitting Sean Buckley, who was representing the game-tying run at the plate.

Buckley, the Dragons' team-leader in home runs and RBI, had already homered in each of the first two games of the series, but Mercedes needed just one pitch to induce the inning-ending groundout before going on to finish the job in the ninth.

Despite sitting at 95-96 mph with his fastball all night, Stephenson (2-3) suffered the loss. The 27th overall pick in last summer's draft was charged with three runs - two earned - on four hits over four innings of work.

The Whitecaps continue their final road trip of the year with the finale of a four-game series against the Dayton Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. RHP Jeff Ferrell (6-4, 3.39) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP James Allen (7-4, 3.80) of Dayton. Just three home games remain the regular season, with the 'Caps kicking off their season-ending three-game series at Fifth Third Ballpark on Saturday, September 1, at 7:00 p.m. Fireworks will follow the ballgame. 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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