'Caps Drop Pitchers Duel in Peoria, 1-0
Published on July 23, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
PEORIA, IL - The West Michigan Whitecaps pitching staff held their opponent quiet for 26 outs but couldn't find the 27th in a 1-0 loss to the Peoria Chiefs on a walk-off bases-loaded walk to Ian Petrutz on Thursday night at Dozer Park.
The loss becomes the third straight for West Michigan, and the first by a 1-0 score this season. Thursday becomes the 110th game in Whitecaps history in which there was only a single run scored in a contest, a scenario that has the 'Caps holding an all-time record of 58-52.
Pitchers on both sides performed outstandingly on Thursday, with starters Lucas Elissalt (5 IP, 0 R, 5 K) and the Chiefs Yhoiker Fajardo (4.2 IP, 0 R, 8 K) keeping their opponents off-balance through the first five frames. The bullpens carried the torch for both sides each of the next three innings, as West Michigan's Zack Lee and Peoria's Bobby Olsen, Dominic Freeburger, and Christian Worley all threw scoreless baseball in the late innings to push the contest to a scoreless tie into the ninth inning. In the ninth, Whitecaps reliever Eliseo Mota struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up back-to-back singles to Jalin Flores and Josh Kross, then hitting Michael Dattalo with a pitch before issuing the bases-loaded walk to Petrutz to end the contest and give Peoria its third straight win.
The Whitecaps drop to 14-13 in the second half and 38-53 on the season, while the Chiefs improve to 12-14 in the latter portion of '26 and 44-48 overall. Peoria pitcher Christian Worley (3-2) tossed the final two innings for the Chiefs, striking out four to earn his third win of the season, while Mota (0-1) takes his first loss for the 'Caps. Infielder Cristian Santana reached base three times and went 2-for-3 at the plate in a losing cause.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps push this six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs to Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 pm. Carlos Marcano gets the start for West Michigan against the Chiefs Ty Van Dyke. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:50 pm on 'The Ticket West Michigan' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.
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