MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

Holton Homers in 1-0 Shutout

Published on May 21, 2022 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, IN - The West Michigan Whitecaps enjoyed the fourth homer in five games for Jake Holton and a dominant performance from their pitching staff as part of a 1-0 shutout win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 7,651 fans on Saturday night at Parkview Field.

Holton, who rejoined the Whitecaps roster on May 4, launched his sixth homer of the year on a 3-0 pitch in the fourth inning. The blast marked his fourth homer of the series. Meanwhile, Dylan Smith's outstanding performance combined with four scoreless innings from the West Michigan bullpen in the club's fifth shutout of the season.

After Holton's homer in the fourth, Smith finished his fifth scoreless inning by escaping a jam with two outs and runners at second and third by getting Ripken Reyes to pop out to second base to end the threat. In the sixth, Michigan native Jared Tobey managed to get through runners at first and second and two outs when Matthew Acosta popped out to shortstop. After a 1-2-3 inning for reliever Chavez Fernander in the seventh, lefty Gabe Sequeira eluded the TinCaps offense by getting a called third strike to retire Fort Wayne's Brandon Valenzuela to end the eighth. In the ninth, Elvis Alvarado retired the final two TinCaps to collect his first save as a Whitecap.

Smith (4-3) collected his fourth win on the season and third in his last three starts by tossing five scoreless frames, while TinCaps lefty Robert Gasser (1-5) took a tough-luck loss in six one-run innings. The Whitecaps record improves to 17-21, while Fort Wayne drops to 15-23. The 1-0 decision marks the 102nd time in Whitecaps history that score has decided a game. Saturday's result gives West Michigan a franchise record of 52-50 in those contests.

UP NEXT

The West Michigan Whitecaps finish this six-game series with a Sunday matinee against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at 1:05 pm. Top-10 Detroit Tigers prospect and pitcher Ty Madden gets the call for West Michigan against Fort Wayne's Ryan Bergert. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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