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MWL Great Lakes Loons

Great Lakes Offense Strikes for 8-2 Win

May 21, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The Great Lakes Loons (7-9) played their quickest nine-inning game for the third-straight night, besting Lake County (10-6) at Dow Diamond Friday night, 8-2. The middle batters of Andy Pages, Joe Vranesh and Carson Taylor combined for a 7-for-11 night with five runs batted in, striking out twice. Jesus Vargas tossed six innings on 54 pitches in relief for Logan Boyer, earning his first win of the season for GL with five strikeouts.

The Loons began the night's scoring with a triple and a double by Vranesh and Taylor to begin the second inning, never ceasing the lead. Shortstop Leonel Valera for the second time of the series for GL, his third of the season with a three-run blast to extend the Loons' lead in the fourth. The last three games for Valera made his slugging percentage jump .144 points with two homers and a triple, moving from a .306 to .450.

After homering for the first time of the season Thursday night, Pages made it back-to-back nights with a two-run pop in the fifth. The Dodgers' 20-year-old prospect is riding a 13-game on-base streak. Within that span, Pages' batting average has also moved from .083 to a .222. The Loons finished 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Vranesh turned around his second double in the last three games Friday, as well as tripling for the first time of the year. Vranesh continued the trend of aggressive baserunning for Great Lakes, stealing two bases on two pitches. The Loons pace the rest of the High-A Central with 34 stolen bases.

Great Lakes' pitching staff made another impressive performance in front of a year-best 1,223 fans Friday night, taking a shutout into the ninth inning. In the last two nights, the Loons held Lake County off the scoreboard for 13 consecutive innings, spanning from Thursday's second inning into Friday's ninth.

After a one-out Boyer start, the Loons got six innings of scoreless relief by Vargas as he struck out five in his first win of the year. Morgan Cooper surrendered the two-run Delgado homerun in the top of the ninth and struck out one batter in his two innings. Lake County's Tanner Burns (L, 0-1) received the loss, surrendering five runs on seven hits in his 4 2/3 innings. Burns entered Friday with 13 strikeouts in 8 IP and two earned runs.

Great Lakes and Lake County both enter the weekend 2-2 in the six-game series, continuing Saturday night for the Loons' first Fireworks Loontacular of the season, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance. Southpaw Robinson Ortiz is expected to make his second start of the season Saturday for Great Lakes, opposed by Lake County's fellow lefty, Matt Turner. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., with gates opening an hour prior. Live coverage can be found live through the MiLB.TV app, or on ESPN 100.9 FM at 5:35 p.m. EDT.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.

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