MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Farmer Fans A Dozen As Whitecaps Cruise

Published on April 30, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


EASTLAKE, OH - For the second night in a row, the West Michigan Whitecaps got a dominant starting pitching performance that set the tone for a victory over the Lake County Captains.

On Wednesday, it was a 12-strikeout effort from Buck Farmer that led the Whitecaps to a 4-1 win at Classic Park.

The West Michigan (14-12) pitching staff struck out a season-high 15 batters in the game and has now allowed just one run over the last 21 innings of the series against Lake County (7-19). Winners of four of their last five games, the Whitecaps will try to clinch a series win over the Captains on Thursday.

Farmer (3-2) led the way with a dozen strikeouts, eclipsing his previous career-high of 11 strikeouts on April 28 at Cedar Rapids. He finished three punch-outs shy of Alan Webb's franchise record of 15 strikeouts in a 1998 start at Beloit. Farmer fanned multiple batters in four of his seven innings and struck out the side in both the third and fourth frames, throwing 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes.

In seven dominant innings, he allowed just one run on five hits and one walk. The only blemish was a solo home run off the bat of Eric Haase in the second.

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps got a little help to start the scoring in the top of the second. Ben Verlander lifted a routine fly ball to shallow right field, but it dropped between three defenders for a gift-single. Harold Castro followed with a double that put runners on second and third, and later in the inning Bennett Pickar split the gap in right-center to score both runners for a 2-0 advantage.

The lead was cut to 2-1 on the homer by Haase in the bottom of the second, but the 'Caps slowly built on their advantage as the evening went on.

In the top of the fifth, West Michigan rallied for three consecutive two-out singles, including an opposite-field hit by Dominic Ficociello that brought Javier Betancourt home. In the seventh, Wynton Bernard tripled and scored on a two-out single by Raph Rhymes to push the lead to 4-1.

The Captains made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases against Montreal Robertson with one out.

But manager Andrew Graham called on Scott Sitz to save the day. Sitz responded by inducing a game-ending double play ball from Claudio Bautista to clinch his first save of the season.

Luis Lugo (0-4) suffered the loss despite a solid starting performance for Lake County. The 20-year-old lefty struck out six and walked one over 4.2 innings but was charged with three runs on five hits.

The Whitecaps continue their seven-game road trip on Thursday evening with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch against the Lake County Captains at Classic Park. RHP Austin Kubitza (3-0, 2.82) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Dace Kime (0-4, 9.95) of Lake County. The 'Caps will be back at Fifth Third Ballpark on Monday, May 5, offering fans that present a church or community bulletin half-price reserved seats thanks to JQ99 FM. Season, 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 April 30, 2014


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