Captains Shut down Bullpen Anchors, 4-2, Win Over TinCaps
MWL Lake County Captains

Captains Shut down Bullpen Anchors, 4-2, Win Over TinCaps

July 18, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In the first game of a scheduled three-game series, the Lake County Captains (11-11, 46-42) defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps (12-10, 43-44) by a final score of 4-2 on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

For the Captains, it was six scoreless innings out of the bullpen that guided them to a series-opening victory.

Fort Wayne got on the board immediately when 2B Brandon Butterworth launched his tenth home run of the season to lead off the game, making it 1-0 TinCaps.

Lake County responded an inning later with a three-run bottom of the second.

With newly promoted Captains DH Nick Mitchell at the plate, Lake County plated its first run of the night when SS Jose Devers scored on a balk from Fort Wayne RHP Isaiah Lowe (L, 3-8), MLB Pipeline 's No. 10 Padres prospect. Lowe suffered his eighth loss of the season, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits across 3.2 innings of work.

The Captains then took the lead in the following at-bat when 3B Juan Benjamin hit a two-out RBI single. 2B Christian Knapczyk followed with another single, with Benjamin scoring on the play from a throwing error by TinCaps CF Kai Roberts, MLB Pipeline 's No. 23 Padres prospect.

In the top of the third, RF Braedon Karpathios would drive in Fort Wayne's final run of the night with a two-out RBI single.

To round out the scoring for the evening, Benjamin would hit his second RBI single of the night into right field, giving Lake County a 4-2 advantage.

Captains LHP Izaak Martinez (W, 1-0) relieved LHP Matt Wilkinson (ND) to earn his first victory of the season for Lake County. Martinez struck out one TinCap over three scoreless, hitless innings.

RHP Josh Harlow (H, 2) then entered and worked a perfect seventh inning, which ended with his lone strikeout of the night.

Finally, RHP Jack Jasiak (S, 9) shut the door for Lake County with two shutout innings of relief. The right-hander left a pair of Fort Wayne runners in scoring position in the eighth inning, then worked a perfect ninth frame, ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts. Jasiak earned his team-leading ninth save in the win.

The second game of this week's scheduled three-game series between the Captains and TinCaps is scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m. It will be Christmas in July at the ballpark, where the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a Jhonkensy Noel "Big Christmas" bobblehead presented by Streb Electric. The game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App and MiLB.com, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Notes to Know

- INF Juan Benjamin went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and two stolen bases on Friday night. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native became the first Midwest League player with at least three hits, two RBI, two stolen bases, and a perfect batting average in a game this season.

- OF Nick Mitchell went 1-for-3 with a run scored in his High-A debut on Friday night. The 21-year-old is now on a five-game hitting streak and a seven-game on-base streak across Lake County and Single-A Lynchburg.

- LHP Izaak Martinez earned his first career High-A win with three scoreless, hitless innings of relief on Friday night. This marked the left-hander's second win of the year, and his first since April 23 for Single-A Lynchburg versus Fayetteville (Single-A, HOU).

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 18, 2025


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