'Caps Fall to Lansing on Play at the Plate, 2-1
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Fall to Lansing on Play at the Plate, 2-1

Published on May 26, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


LANSING, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps pitched well enough to win their series opener on Tuesday, but a controversial call made the difference as part of a 2-1 walk-off loss to the Lansing Lugnuts at Jackson Field.

With the score tied at one with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, a ground ball down the third base line by Lansing shortstop Ali Camarillo was fielded cleanly by third baseman Junior Tilien, whose throw to the plate beat baserunner Rodney Green Jr. to the plate. Despite the throw making it home early enough to tag the incoming runner, Green was ruled safe by home plate umpire Patrick McMorris, giving the Lugnuts the 2-1 victory in the first game of the series.

The Whitecaps took an early lead in the opening inning when Jackson Strong's infield single caromed off Lansing starting pitcher Steven Echavarria, allowing Andrew Sojka to score and give the Whitecaps a 1-0 advantage. The score remained the same until the seventh, when Casey Yamauchi delivered a successful squeeze bunt to score Pedro Pineda as the tying run to even the score at one, setting up the controversial finish that left catcher Ricardo Hurtado, pitcher Thomas Bruss, Tilien, and manager René Rivera on the field to argue the call as the game concluded.

The Whitecaps fall to 14-32 as the Lugnuts improve to 20-26. Bruss (0-3) suffered the tough-luck loss, giving up the unearned run in the ninth, while 'Nuts reliever Jack Mahoney (2-0) collected his second win of the season for delivering a scoreless ninth. First baseman Garrett Pennington led the 'Caps offense with a pair of base hits, including a double in the defeat. Despite the loss, the Whitecaps enjoyed the third straight effective start from pitcher Hayden Minton, who tossed 4.2 frames of scoreless baseball, and has allowed only one run over his past three starts spanning 14.2 innings pitched. This marks the first time this season the Lugnuts have beaten the Whitecaps after West Michigan swept a six-game series at Jackson Field in Mid-April.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps will see a quick turnaround for a Wednesday morning contest as this six-game series at Jackson Field continues against the Lansing Lugnuts at 11:05am. Detroit Tigers No. 6 Prospect Ben Jacobs gets the start for West Michigan against the Lugnuts Samuel Dutton. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 10:50am on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket', and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from May 26, 2026


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