Lugs' Rally in 9th Falls Short in 5-3 Loss
Published on May 2, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release
LANSING, Mich. - Blanked through eight innings, the Lansing Lugnuts (10-16) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth before falling to the Dayton Dragons (13-13), 5-3, on Saturday afternoon at Jackson® Field™.
The two teams have split the first six games, setting up a seventh-game rubber match in the 1:05 p.m. Sunday finale.
The Dragons tallied in the first and second innings off Kyle Robinson to back the shutout pitching of Nestor Lorant (5 2/3) and Cody Adcock (2 1/3), bringing a 2-0 lead to a pivotal ninth.
Lansing right-hander Abel Mercedes entered from the bullpen and walked the Carter Graham and Jack Moss, then allowed a single from Esmith Pineda that was overrun by left fielder Devin Taylor, bringing in Graham for a 3-0 lead.
Riley Huge relieved Mercedes and induced a fielder's choice, forcing pinch-runner Johnny Ascanio at the plate. Kien Vu walked to load the bases. Ryan McCrystal followed with a potential inning-ending double-play grounder, but second baseman Casey Yamauchi bounced his throw to first. C.J. Pittaro was unable to pick it as two runs scored, lifting Dayton into a 5-0 lead.
Those runs proved invaluable when the Lugnuts opened the bottom of the ninth with a Dylan Fien double and Pittaro walk against reliever Jimmy Romano. Pedro Pineda grounded to third baseman Graham, who dropped the ball on the transfer for a bases-loading error, and Rodney Green, Jr. lined an RBI single to left to bring the Lugnuts within 5-1. Ali Camarillo appeared to have picked up an RBI single of his own, but his run-scoring grounder up the middle was turned into a forceout of Green by deft work from shortstop Carlos Sanchez and second baseman Alfredo Alcantara. Davis Diaz grounded out to shortstop, scoring Pineda, and bringing up Devin Taylor as the game-tying run. But Romano struck out Taylor to end the ballgame.
In the loss, Lansing third baseman Bobby Boser went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to end a 23-game on-base streak.
Tzu-Chen Sha takes on Reynardo Cruz in the Sunday series finale, with gates opening at 12 noon for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. The Lansing Locos will be in action in a special Cinco de Mayo celebration on a Capital City Market Kids Day. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.
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