MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Drop Series Finale to Fort Wayne

August 20, 2013 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - Two home runs for the Fort Wayne TinCaps (65-61, 22-35) provided the power needed to down the Great Lakes Loons (59-68, 32-25) 4-2 on Tuesday night at Dow Diamond. Alberth Martinez homered and Diego Goris hit his second home run of the series in the win. Goris was the thorn in the side of the Loons, as he finished the four-game set 7-for-13 with five RBI in three games.

"It's not always easy when things don't always go your way," Loons manager Razor Shines said. "But we've got to continue to create our own breaks and make things happen. I think we'll do that. I like the makeup of this club."

Fort Wayne was able to get on the board first in the second inning when Goris hit a 410-foot solo home run to left-center field off Loons starter Jonathan Martinez. Tyler Stubblefield followed up the big fly with a triple to right field as Devin Shines tripped when following the ball near the warning track. Catcher Miguel Del Castillo hit a single to right field to score Stubblefield, increasing Fort Wayne's lead to 2-0.

Martinez (2-4) took the loss in the game for Great Lakes, going five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. The Maracay, Venezuela, native walked one and struck out two.

Tyler Ogle led off the bottom half of the second inning with a hit with a pitch. He proceeded to steal second and scored on a Leo Rodriguez single off TinCaps starter Colin Rea to get the Loons on the board.

Not eligible for the win, Rea went four innings and gave up one run on three hits for Fort Wayne. He struck out six and walked just one. Matthew Chabot (5-1) relieved Rea and went 2 1/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three, earning the win.

In the top of the third, Reynaldo Bruguera led off with a single for the TinCaps and Martinez followed with a home run to left field, extending Fort Wayne's lead to 4-1. The 385-foot shot was the 10th of the season for Martinez.

Jose Capellan followed up his six-RBI night last night with a home run in the seventh inning for Great Lakes. He cleared the wall in left field for his first home run of the season, cutting the Fort Wayne's lead to 4-2.

Capellan finished the game 1-for-4, while James Baldwin returned to the lineup and went 2-for-4 with two singles.

"I just wanted to try to help the team win tonight, somehow, someway," Baldwin said. "It didn't matter if that was getting on base or playing good defense. I did what I had to do offensively and I was able to field the balls hit to me in the field. We fell short today, but we've got another game tomorrow."

Rob Rogers provided three solid innings of scoreless relief for the Loons. The 32nd round pick in June's draft out of Keystone College (Pa.) gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two.

"I just came out and tried to let them hit the ball," Rogers said. "I was trying to let them make outs and keep the score where it was, so hopefully we could come back to tie it up and then get a win."

TinCaps closer Roman Madrid retired Great Lakes in order in the bottom of the ninth to finish the game and picked up his 21st save of the season.

The Loons will begin a three-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday at Dow Diamond. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Zachary Bird (1-4, 5.73 ERA) is expected to start for Great Lakes and Eric Brown (1-2, 5.17 ERA) is slated to go for the Lugnuts. Wednesday will feature the fifth installment of the Michigan Legends Series, as former Michigan State basketball coach Jud Heathcote and MSU forward Greg Kelser, both part of the Spartans' 1979 NCAA championship team will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs.

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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