MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Caps Blanked, Knocked Out Of Playoff Chase

Published on August 31, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, IN - For the second time in the 2012 season, the Whitecaps came up short in a late playoff push.

The West Michigan Whitecaps committed four errors in a 7-0 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Friday night at Parkview Field, and were officially eliminated from playoff contention later in the evening by virtue of Lake County's 9-3 victory over Bowling Green.

West Michigan (34-33, 70-67) won nine games during a 13-game stretch to muscle their way into the second-half playoff race, but their late surge was abruptly halted by consecutive losses in Fort Wayne (37-30, 68-69) the past two nights. The Whitecaps suffered a similar fate before the All-Star break, when a red-hot 15-5 finish was not enough to catch Bowling Green for a first-half playoff berth.

As a result, West Michigan will miss the post-season in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.

While the Whitecaps struggled to finish rallies on Friday night, the TinCaps had no problem breaking through on their way to clinching a trip to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

West Michigan put three runners on base in the top of the first, but missed out on plating an unearned run when Eugenio Suarez was thrown out at the plate after a single by Jeff McVaney. In the bottom of the frame, Fort Wayne capitalized on an early Whitecaps' error to push across the game's first run.

In the top of the fifth, Lance Durham led off with a double and advanced to third with one out, but the 'Caps could not bring him home. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff double by Duanel Jones came around to score on a two-out single by Kyle Gaedele for a 2-0 Fort Wayne advantage.

But the biggest sequence of the night came in the sixth.

West Michigan benefitted from a walk and two errors to load the bases with one out in the top of the frame, still trailing by just two runs at that point. Fort Wayne reliever James Jones only needed to face one batter to escape the jam, inducing an inning-ending double play ball from Jason King to keep the Whitecaps off the scoreboard.

As fate would have it, the TinCaps also had a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Facing reliever Michael Torrealba, Austin Hedges singled through the right side to drive home a pair of runs and double Fort Wayne's lead to 4-0.

Later in the frame, the bags were packed with two outs when Torrealba induced a routine fly to shallow left that looked like it would help minimize the damage in the inning. But Suarez, who was camped underneath the pop-up, dropped the ball as two more runs crossed the plate on the Whitecaps' fourth error of the night.

Erik Cabrera (2-2) earned the win with 5.1 scoreless frames for the TinCaps. Kyle Ryan (7-8) took the loss despite pitching well for West Michigan, allowing two runs - one earned - on three hits over five innings of work.

The Whitecaps return to Fifth Third Ballpark for the final three-game series of the regular season starting at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night against the Dayton Dragons. RHP Marcelo Carreno (8-8, 3.38) is scheduled to take the mound for West Michigan against RHP Radhames Quezada (5-8, 3.33) of Dayton in a ballgame that will be followed by post-game fireworks. 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 31, 2012


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