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Great Lakes Loons

31 HRs for Pages, Loons Fall Short to Wisconsin

September 14, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, MI - The Great Lakes Loons (62-53) began their final six-game series of the regular season with a 6-3 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (55-59) at Dow Diamond Tuesday night. Andy Pages hit his 31st HR of the year, making it four consecutive nights with a home run and five HRs in his last four games.

Great Lakes entered the week one game behind Cedar Rapids (63-52) for the final playoff spot in the High-A Central's postseason, with Lake County a game behind the Loons. Along with a Tuesday Kernels loss and Lake County win, Great Lakes is tied with Lake County and still behind Cedar Rapids for the final spot with five games to play.

Deacon Liput (11) and Ryan Ward (27) also recorded solo home runs in the Tuesday loss. With Pages homering in the fourth, Liput continued the action with a solo blast in the fifth and Ward going deep in the sixth. In the final three-inning stretch, Wisconsin scored four unanswered runs to push the Tuesday opener out of reach for GL.

Coming off a two-HR week, Joey Wiemer smoked a decisive 434-foot home run to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning off Loons reliever Jose Hernandez (L, 1-2). The Rattlers plated an additional two runs off Mike Mokma in the top of the ninth to end the night's scoring.

Great Lakes benefited from a quality start out of Hyun-il Choi, surrendering a two-run blast to Nick Kahle in the bottom of the second inning. In the sixth inning, Aldry Acosta relieved Choi with a scoreless frame before entering for the seventh and allowing a lead-off double to Freddy Zamora, who'd come in to score.

Wisconsin's Victor Castaneda also logged a five-inning start, allowing the solo homers to Pages and Liput on six strikeouts and no walks. The first pitch from reliever Harold Chirino (W, 5-5) to Ryan Ward resulted in a lead-off blast, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving the Loons their final lead of the night. Chirino settled in, striking out five batters in two innings.

Following a scoreless frame from Cam Robinson, Evan Reifert nailed shut his sixth save of the season with a near-immaculate inning, striking out the side to conclude Tuesday's game on 11 pitches, nine of which were strikes.

Tuesday's loss to Wisconsin broke a streak of 5-0 in Tuesday debuts for Great Lakes, spanning back to a July 3 win in Fort Wayne.

Still out of the postseason picture by one game, Great Lakes looks to even the series tomorrow, slotting Logan Boyer for his 24th start of the season. In 27 total appearances, Boyer has maintained a 5.54 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Opposing Boyer will be Wisconsin's Brandon Knarr in his fifth appearance with Milwaukee's High-A Rattlers, who has allowed 16 runs in 17 1/3 innings.

First pitch against Wisconsin Wednesday night is set for 7:05 P.M. EDT, with gates opening an hour before first pitch. Coverage begins with the Loons On-Deck Circle, Built by Three Rivers, at 6:35 P.M. EDT. Tickets, along with a full look at the upcoming promotional schedule can be found at Loons.com.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.

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