MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Late Loons Rally Falls Just Short

July 28, 2013 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - Joe Sever broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning with a 340-foot solo home run and the Lake County Captains (40-62, 17-18) held off a furious ninth inning rally by the Great Lakes Loons (49-57, 22-14) to pick up a 5-4 road win on Sunday afternoon at Dow Diamond.

After the Captains took the lead in the eighth, the Loons put pressure on Lake County in both the eighth and ninth innings. In the eighth, leadoff hitter Robbie Garvey was thrown out at third in a close play that ended the frame.

With two outs and nobody on base in the ninth, Aaron Miller drove a ball off the wall in straightaway center field for a triple that kept the Loons hopes alive. Miller's triple was followed by back-to-back walks from Tyler Ogle and James Baldwin. Ogle drew his walk on a full count. With the bases loaded, Jeremy Rathjen worked a 2-2 count, but was called out on strikes on a pitch that was just on the outer edge of the strike zone, ending the game and giving Great Lakes their third loss of the homestand.

"We lost a tough, freaking ballgame today," Loons manager Razor Shines said. "Today is going to have to sink in because it was a tough one to let get away.""

Baldwin scored the first run on the game in the bottom of the second to give the Loons an early lead. Baldwin, the Dodgers' No. 19 prospect, reached on a single, stole second and third base, and scored on a Brandon Dixon sacrifice fly. Baldwin, the Dodgers' No. 19 prospect, had a big day, going 3-for-3, picking up a double and a walk, along with two runs scored and four stolen bases.

"Right now, I'm just working on getting from point A to point B and getting my barrel straight through the baseball instead of looping through the zone," Baldwin said.

Lake County took the lead back with two runs in the third inning and added two more runs in the fourth.

With two runners on base and nobody out in the third, Captains two-hitter Dorssys Paulino hit a ground ball to Loons third baseman Brandon Dixon for a likely double play. However, Dixon made a throwing error that allowed Paulino to reach and Jorge Martinez to score Lake County's first run. LeVon Washington came home for the second run of the frame when Logan Vick grounded into a double play.

In the fourth, Captains eight-hitter Todd Hankins reached on a Dixon fielding error, stole second base and scored on a Martinez single. Martinez came around to score when Washington tripled to deep right-center field.

Each of Lake County's runs in the third and fourth was credited to Loons starting pitcher Chris Anderson, but all four runs were unearned. Anderson threw four innings and surrendered six hits, while striking out three and walking two.

Lake County starting pitcher Robbie Aviles pitched three innings and gave up one run on two hits. Aviles struck out one and walked one.

The Loons picked up their second run in the bottom of the fourth when Miller scored on a Rathjen groundout.

Great Lakes tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth inning. Baldwin stretched a routine single into a double, stole third base and scored on a Jose Capellan single. Dixon scored the game-tying run on a double from Garvey, who was 2-for-4, with two doubles and one walk.

"They were busting me in; every fastball except one was on the black or further in," Garvey said. "They had a plan to get me out today and I had to adjust. When you do get pitches that you can hit, you just try to play pepper and put a good swing on it."

Jack Wagoner (3-5) gave up two runs on four hits in two innings of relief for Lake County, but picked up the win. The Captains also got two innings from relievers James Stokes and Grant Sides. Sides closed the game to pick up his third save of the season.

Great Lakes got five good innings from their bullpen. Luis Meza, Crayton Bare (0-1) and Owen Jones combined to give up one run on one hit over five innings. Bare gave up Sever's home run in the eight and took the loss, but struck out four and did not issue a walk in two innings.

The Loons wrap up their homestand on Monday night, finishing a three-game series against the Captains. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Tom Windle (2-0, 1.88 ERA), the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect, is expected to start for the Loons. The projected starter for Lake County is Luis DeJesus (4-10, 6.45). It will be a Social Media Monday at Dow Diamond.

The Great Lakes Loons are a seventh-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For tickets and more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.

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Midwest League Stories from July 28, 2013


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