'Caps Bit by Injury Bug in 9-4 Win
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Bit by Injury Bug in 9-4 Win

July 23, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


PEORIA, IL - The West Michigan Whitecaps watched multiple players leave with injuries as they took a big lead early on and never looked back in a 9-4 victory over the Peoria Chiefs on Wednesday night at Dozer Park.

In the first inning, first baseman Garrett Pennington was hit by a pitch in the helmet and was removed from the game before ever taking the field, while outfielder Seth Stephenson took a pitch off the hand in the fifth and was taken out of the contest. As for the ballgame, the Whitecaps plated three runs in the first inning and six more in the third to help extend their winning streak to five games. The last time the 'Caps suffered a loss came back on July 13 at home against Lake County.

The 'Caps jumped all over Chiefs starter Gerardo Salas, plating three runs in a first inning highlighted by Izaac Pacheco's RBI-single and Austin Murr driving home a pair of runs thanks to a Peoria fielding error to chase Salas from the contest and take a 3-0 advantage. In the third, the Whitecaps sent ten batters to the plate and Murr drove home two more runs with a double to extend the lead to 5-0. Run-scoring singles by Woody Hadeen and Bennett Lee pushed the edge to 7-0 before Stephenson drilled a two-run triple to the left-center field gap to help West Michigan blow the contest open with a 9-0 lead before leaving after being hit by a pitch in the fifth. Peoria collected a pair in their half of the fifth when Brayden Jobert launched his second home run in as many nights and eighth of the season to get the Chiefs on the board at 9-2. The Chiefs plated single runs in the seventh and ninth, but it was too late as West Michigan powered their way to ten games over the .500 mark in the second half in the victory.

The Whitecaps record jumps to 18-8 in the back half of 2025 and a season-best 33 games over .500 at 62-29, while the Chiefs drop to 11-15 in the second half and 36-54 on the year. Freddy Pacheco (1-0) collects his first win of the season, while Peoria starter Gerardo Salas (3-9) takes his ninth loss of the year after giving up three runs in just two-thirds of an inning to begin the game. Stephenson, Pacheco, and Murr each collected multi-hit games as part of the 'Caps fifth straight victory.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps play the third game of this six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park on Thursday at 7:35 pm. Lefty Joe Miller takes the mound for West Michigan against righty Jason Savacool for Peoria. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:20 pm on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket', and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Catch all the action on the radio or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.

PLAYOFF PLANS

The 'Caps will host a playoff game the second week of September, scheduled for Thursday, the 11th at 6:35 pm against the second-half Midwest League Eastern Division champion. Individual tickets will go on sale July 8 at 10:00 am on whitecapsbaseball.com.

Check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 23, 2025


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