
Four-Hit Shutout Spins Loons to Victory
July 2, 2022 - Midwest League (MWL)
Great Lakes Loons News Release
MIDLAND, Mich. - Minor League Baseball's hottest series is at Dow Diamond this week between the Great Lakes Loons and the Dayton Dragons.
This set has everything. 24 total runs in a game Tuesday. Extra-inning pitchers' duel Wednesday. Dayton comeback win Thursday. Loons comeback win Friday.
On Saturday, the Loons had a pitchers' duel go their way, pitching a combined four-hit shutout to earn a 1-0 victory.
The Loons (46-28, 6-2 second half) started right-hander Carlos Duran, who was excellent again. In his fourth start for Great Lakes this season, Duran spun three innings of two-hit baseball, walking one, striking out two, and keeping Dayton scoreless. Duran has now tossed 10 innings to begin his Loons season without allowing a run.
Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers' High-A affiliate, then turned to right-hander Emmet Sheehan (W, 4-2), who earned his fourth straight win in relief. Sheehan went 4 2-3 innings, allowing just a pair of hits and two walks while punching out seven Dragons in his outing, and not allowing a run. In Sheehan's last 13 2-3 innings, he has not allowed an earned run.
Dayton (43-31, 4-4) also had a great start to the game on defense, thanks to Evan Kravetz (L, 4-2). In the first four innings that Kravetz tossed, he allowed just two hits. The fifth inning is when the Loons finally broke through against him. Kekai Rios led off the inning with a triple, then with two outs, Jonny DeLuca doubled to score him. DeLuca finished the game 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and the only RBI of the game. He had three of the Loons' four hits, the only other was the Rios triple.
The final line for Kravetz, who took a tough-luck loss, read 5 2-3 innings, four hits allowed, four walks, seven strikeouts, and one earned run.
The Dragons, High-A partner of the Cincinnati Reds, then turned to Carson Rudd, who was impressive out of the bullpen. He tossed 2 1-3 innings of hitless baseball, allowing just a walk while striking out three.
After Sheehan was done in the eighth inning, Great Lakes called upon southpaw Jeff Belge (SV, 3), who entered with two on and two out in the frame. Belge struck out the final batter, then faced the minimum in the ninth inning to earn the save. He struck out two batters in total.
The Loons now hold a 3-2 lead in the series, and an 8-3 edge in the season series with the Dayton Dragons, which continues Sunday at Dow Diamond. Sunday's game is the final one in the regular season between these two clubs. Nick Nastrini (1-2, 4.35 ERA) toes the rubber for Great Lakes, opposing fellow righty Thomas Farr (0-4, 6.17 ERA) for Dayton in a 1:05 p.m. start. It's a team photo giveaway day at Dow Diamond - tickets are still available at Loons.com.
Midwest League Stories from July 2, 2022
- Love's Arm, Whalen's Bat Powers Chiefs Past River Bandits - Peoria Chiefs
- Timber Rattlers Take a Thriller from Kernels - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Kernels Fall to Wisconsin in 11 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- 'Caps' Bats Silenced in 4-2 Loss - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Gasser Goes 6 Scoreless in Win at West Michigan - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Bandits' Bats Quieted in Saturday Night Loss - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Captains Split Doubleheader, Boone Twirls Game One Complete Game Shutout - Lake County Captains
- Four-Hit Shutout Spins Loons to Victory - Great Lakes Loons
- Sky Carp Can't Solve Cubs - Beloit Sky Carp
- Loons Edge Dragons 1-0 on Saturday Night - Dayton Dragons
- Cross Supplies the Offense, Nuts Split Two - Lansing Lugnuts
- Frank Nigro Transferred to St. Paul, Mullenbach Returns to Cedar Rapids - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- TinCaps Game Information: July 2 at West Michigan - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday - Dayton Dragons
- MiLB at Field of Dreams Tickets on Sale to Iowa and Illinois Residents Saturday, July 2 - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Cubs Win Season High 9th Straight, Knock Down Sky Carp 8-5 - South Bend Cubs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Great Lakes Loons Stories
- Loons Keep TinCaps to One Hit, Strike out 14 in 8-0 Win
- Loons Leave 12 on Base, TinCaps Win 7-1
- Loons Crunch TinCaps 11-0, Sirota Has Four RBI Night
- Nevin Homers Twice But Loons Pitching Walks 16 in 8-7 Walk-Off Loss to TinCaps
- De Paula Hits Tenth Home Run of Season, Loons Finish 11-Game Homestand with 6-5 Win

