Lugs Slip Past Mistake-Prone Dragons
August 19, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release
LANSING, Mich. - A sixth-inning passed ball by catcher Morgan Lofstrom led to Yorman Rodriguez racing home with the tie-breaking run, lifting the opportunistic Lansing Lugnuts (30-26, 62-63) to a 4-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons (23-33, 51-75) on Monday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
All four Lugnuts runs were unearned, thanks to two crucial Dragons errors in addition to the decisive passed ball.
With the South Bend Cubs losing 5-3 in Great Lakes, the Nuts moved back within one game of the Cubs for the Eastern Division wild card with 14 games to play in the regular season.
First baseman Rodriguez led off the bottom of the sixth against Dayton starter Adrian Rodriguez (Loss, 5-3), no relation, with a liner to right field dropped by Mariel Bautista for a two-base error. He moved to third on a Rodriguez wild pitch and then raced home when Lofstrom couldn't handle a Rodriguez pitch to Griffin Conine.
The Lugnuts' bullpen took it the rest of the way. Juan Nuñez relieved starter Fitz Stadler with a perfect seventh inning, striking out one. Jose Espada recorded the first two outs in the eighth before yielding to Marcus Reyes (Save, 2), who pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, stranding a two-out triple by Juan Martinez in the ninth by coaxing a popout from Jay Schuyler to end the game.
The Dragons had grabbed a 3-0 lead with three runs, two earned, on four hits in the top of the third inning off Lugnuts starter Stadler (Win, 5-6). The 6-foot-9 right-hander did not allow anything further in his six innings, allowing only one other base runner (a fourth-inning single) while striking out six in his third straight quality start.
The Lugnuts answered in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Tanner Kirwer was hit by an Adrian Rodriguez pitch. Yorman Rodriguez then grounded to third, where Juan Martinez muffed it to keep the inning alive. That brought up Gabriel Moreno, who drilled a three-run homer to right to tie the score.
Lugnuts shortstop Otto Lopez, currently in the midst of a 19-game hitting streak, had the game off.
The Lugnuts look to take three of four from the Dragons in the homestand finale on Tuesday, a Taco Tuesday matinee beginning at 12:05 p.m. Lansing right-hander Troy Watson (3.32 ERA) takes on Dragons right-hander Lyon Richardson (4.54) in the starting matchup. To live the Lug Life and purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com, call (517) 485-4500 or come to the Cooley Law School Stadium box office at 505 E. Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing.
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from August 19, 2019
- Four-Run Fifth Catapults Kernels over River Bandits - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Chiefs Walk off Rattlers Monday - Peoria Chiefs
- Winder Blows Bandits Away in 6-2 Win - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Beloit Falls in Extras to Bees 5-3 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Chiefs Walkoff Win Denies Wisconsin's Opportunity to Pick Up Ground in Playoff Race - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Cougars Come from Behind Twice to Beat Clinton - Clinton LumberKings
- Late Rally Falls Short - Lake County Captains
- Lugs Slip Past Mistake-Prone Dragons - Lansing Lugnuts
- Trageton Shines as Hot Rods Edge TinCaps 4-3 - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Cougars Zoom Past Clinton - Kane County Cougars
- Hot Start Not Enough as Cubs Fall to Loons 5-3 - South Bend Cubs
- TinCaps' Furious Rally Comes Up Inches Short - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Back in the Win Column - Great Lakes Loons
- Lansing Edges Dayton 4-3; Road Trip Finale Set for Tuesday at Noon - Dayton Dragons
- BG Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Lake County Captains to Wrap up Inaugural Hispanic Community Outreach Campaign as Picantes de Lake County on August 31 - Lake County Captains
- South Bend Cubs Play Three Games at Home this Week - South Bend Cubs
- Scolamiero Named Player of the Week - Lake County Captains
- Luis Rijo Named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Dragons Notes for Monday - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Notes: August 19 vs. Bowling Green (Game 124) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.