'Caps Win, 'Caps Win: 6-5 in 12 Innings
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Win, 'Caps Win: 6-5 in 12 Innings

Published on May 27, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


LANSING, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps pulled off their biggest comeback of the 2026 season, rallying from a four-run deficit as part of a 6-5 win in 12 innings over the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,668 fans on Wednesday at Jackson Field.

The Whitecaps, who lost in walk-off fashion with a 2-1 loss on Tuesday, refused to suffer the same fate for a second straight day, erasing a 4-0 deficit with a pair of runs in both the eighth and ninth innings before protecting a one-run lead in the twelfth to give West Michigan a victory in its longest game in terms of innings played since a 12-inning contest on July 16, 2018 in a 3-2 loss to the Beloit Snappers.

Lansing jumped out to a big lead against Whitecaps starter and Detroit Tigers No. 6 Prospect Ben Jacobs with a run in the second inning before erupting for three more in the fourth, highlighted by a solo home run by Rodney Green Jr., his fifth of the season, to take a 4-0 advantage. The score stayed the same until the late innings, when the 'Caps mounted an impressive rally with two runs in both the eighth and ninth, highlighted by RBI Singles by Tigers No. 2 prospect Bryce Rainer, as well as catcher Luke Shliger and infielder Garrett Pennington, to even the game at four apiece. In the tenth, it looked as if the 'Caps had the difference-making run when Juan Hernandez lined a run-scoring single into right field to score Jackson Strong and give West Michigan a 5-4 edge, but a seeing-eye single through the left side by the Lugnuts C.J. Pittaro knotted the game again at five. In the twelfth, a pair of errant throws by Lansing reliever Tucker Novotny, and a wild pitch plated Shliger with the go-ahead run before 'Caps reliever CJ Weins finished the job by retiring the 'Nuts 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to give West Michigan the thrilling come-from-behind victory.

The Whitecaps record moves to 15-32 as the Lugnuts fall to 20-27. Weins (3-0) gets his third victory of the season for having tossed two scoreless frames, while Novotny (1-2) takes his second loss. The 'Caps bullpen was tremendous on Wednesday, tossing nine innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out seven. The contest lasted three hours, 38 minutes - the longest since a three-hour, 54-minute affair in Lansing on September 3, 2023. With the victory on Wednesday, the Whitecaps have won seven of their eight contests against the Lugnuts this season.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps get back to work Thursday night as this six-game series at Jackson Field against the Lansing Lugnuts continues, with game 3 scheduled to begin at 7:05pm. Pitchers Andrew Sears and Zane Taylor, both Top-30 Prospects for the Tigers and Athletics, get the starts for the 'Caps and 'Nuts. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50pm 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 27, 2026


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