MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Missed Opportunities Lead To Walk-Off Loss

Published on June 13, 2013 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


MIDLAND, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps lost for the ninth time in their last 12 games on Wednesday night, going 11 innings before falling, 3-2, in walk-off fashion against the Great Lakes Loons at Dow Diamond.

West Michigan (30-35) stranded 12 runners on base and went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, failing to hold a 2-0 lead while Great Lakes (25-40) rallied for their seventh consecutive win.

The Whitecaps got a run-scoring double from Devon Travis in the third inning and a solo homer from Danry Vasquez in the fifth to build a 2-0 lead at the midway point.

The rest of the game belonged to Loons' center fielder James Baldwin.

The 21-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers' prospect reached base with a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth, stole second base, and later scored on an infield single to make it a 2-1 ballgame.

Baldwin also dazzled in center field. After making a sensational leaping catch at the wall to rob Lance Durham of a potential run-scoring hit in the sixth, Baldwin fielded a single in the seventh inning and gunned down Vasquez at the plate to keep the score at 2-1.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Baldwin lined a two-out double past Vasquez in left field to plate the game-tying run and even the score at 2-2.

Despite a bases-loaded opportunity in the ninth for West Michigan, the tie score stretched into the bottom of the 11th.

Whitecaps' reliever Chad Smith retired the first two batters of the frame with harmless bounce-outs, but Robbie Garvey kept the inning alive with a two-out single to left. Garvey then stole second base, putting himself in position to score when Malcolm Holland lined the walk-off single through the left side to deliver Great Lakes a 3-2 victory.

Smith (0-3) took the loss, while the Loons' Arismendy Ozoria (1-3) worked a perfect top of the 11th inning to earn the win.

Earlier in the night, 19-year-old Detroit Tigers' pitching prospect Jake Thompson turned in his best outing since joining the Whitecaps on May 28. The Tigers' top pick in the 2012 draft tied a career-high with seven strikeouts over five innings, allowing just one run and two hits. Thompson did not figure into the decision despite taking a no-hitter into the fifth and leaving the game in line for the win.

The Whitecaps take on the Great Lakes Loons for the finale of a three-game series at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday night at the Dow Diamond. RHP Endrys Briceno (2-4, 4.43) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against Great Lakes' RHP Zachary Bird (1-1, 5.85). The 'Caps return to Fifth Third Ballpark at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night for the first Tiger Friday of the summer with a visit from Charlie Maxwell. Saturday's action will include games at 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. during a split doubleheader before the final day of the first half on Sunday. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from June 13, 2013


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