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MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Information: August 14 vs. South Bend

August 14, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


*** Part 1.1 - ASCII

Fort Wayne TinCaps (41-47) vs. South Bend Cubs (40-47)

Saturday, Aug. 14 (6:35 p.m.) | Parkview Field | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Game 5 of 6 in Series | Home Game 47 of 60 | Game 89 of 120

RHP Moises Lugo (3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Jensen (4.81 ERA)

TV: Comcast Network 81 & MiLB.TV (John Nolan & Jack McMullen) | Radio: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM / TinCapsRadio.com (Mike Maahs & Brett Rump)

LAST GAME: The TinCaps broke out of their offensive slump with a 7-2 win over the Cubs. Fort Wayne raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second as a run was balked in and then Adam Kerner crushed a 3-run homer. Chris Givin had a game-high 3 hits, including a 2-run single in the sixth, while Tyler Malone added an RBI single in the eighth. TinCaps pitchers allowed just 2 unearned runs in the seventh.

LUGO LOOKS GOOD: Moises Lugo ranks 6th in High-A Central in strikeouts (85). He enters tonight just shy of the necessary number of innings to qualify as an official league leader, but he's 5th in K/9 (11), K% (29%), and WHIP (1.17). He's also 3rd in batting average against (.195) and 7th in ERA (3.63)... In 2 prior starts at South Bend, Lugo has combined for 9 innings with only 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 singles and 5 walks with 9 strikeouts. The Cubs are 2-for-29 (.069) against him.

VS. JENSEN: This is the 3rd time the TinCaps are facing Ryan Jensen. On May 27, he needed 34 pitches (just 14 strikes) to get 2 outs and was pulled after facing 6 batters. Then on June 25, Fort Wayne scored 4 runs against him over 4 innings. That included Rey Ilarraza's only homer of the season, plus an Adam Kerner RBI double.

QUICK-HITTERS: Givin's 3 hits Friday were a season-high for him... Friday was Yorman Rodriguez's first game as a TinCap since June 13 after spending the last 2 months with Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso... Justin Lopez had 8 extra-base hits in May, 6 in June, 10 in July, but none so far in August. For the season, 2 of his 7 homers are against South Bend... Tyler Malone's 2 hits were also a personal season-high. In 20 games as a TinCap, he has 10 hits (5 doubles and a homer)... Ethan Skender has reached base in 13 consecutive games. Since July 23, he's hit .349 with a .482 OBP and 1.017 OPS with 3 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 8 RBIs... In 8 game this month, Adam Kerner is hitting .269 with a .758 OPS as he has 2 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBIs. For the season, Kerner has thrown out 21 attempted base-stealers. That's tied for the 3rd most in the league.

PITCHING IMPROVING: Over their last 32 games since July 9, TinCaps pitchers have the lowest ERA out of all 30 teams in High-A at 3.27, as the team has gone 17-15. (Over their first 56 games, they ranked 10th/12 in High-A Central at 5.26, and had a 24-32 record.) In this time, 'Caps pitchers also have yielded the fewest homers in High-A (16).

CORN CONNECTIONS: The eyes of the baseball world were fixed on ears of corn in Iowa on Thursday night as the Yankees and White Sox played. TinCaps hitting coach Jonathan Mathews is from Centerville, Iowa, in the southern part of the state, about 3.5 hours from the Field of Dreams in Dyersville. His son, Merrick, just led Centerville High School to Iowa's 2A state championship game last month. Soon Merrick will be following the path of his dad and grandfather (Rick, a scout for the Rockies) by playing collegiately at Indian Hills in Iowa... When Jonathan was a coach for the Padres in 2017, for "Players Weekend," San Diego players gave Mathews the nickname "Corn Boy" for the back of his jersey... One of the umpires in this series, Ben Engstrand, is from the small town of Cumming (3 hours southwest of Dyersville). The plate umpire for Thursday's primetime game was Pat Hoberg, who's also from the Des Moines area. Hoberg came through the Midwest League on his way to the bigs.

SWAGG CHAIN: With Tirso Ornelas' homer Tuesday night, the TinCaps debuted their new "swagg chain," inspired by the Padres. The spinning swagg chain features the team's apple logo blinged out with holographic sequins, glitter paper, bling ribbon, gold beads, and a metal chain. Inside is an bearing that spins freely, with a magnet to ensure the logo is straight when it stops spinning. It was designed by Padres super-fans Roy and Angela Thomasson. They also created similar swagg chains for San Diego's other Minor League affiliates. Angela owns Three Elle Creations, a San Diego-based business that otherwise specializes in custom wreaths and floral home décor items.

FAMILIAR FOES: South Bend starter Anderson Espinoza, was a TinCap until he was traded by the Padres to the Cubs on July 30 for Jake Marisnick... Cubs minor league outfield / baserunning coordinator Doug Dascenzo is also with South Bend right now. Dascenzo managed Fort Wayne from 2007-09, leading the TinCaps to the 2009 Midwest League title.

NEW CUBS PROSPECTS: Espinoza isn't the only new South Bend player acquired at the trade deadline. The Cubs also have first baseman Bryce Ball (from the Braves for Joc Pederson), outfielder Alexander Canario (from the Giants as part of the Kris Bryant deal), and pitcher Alexander Vizcaíno (from the Yankees as part of the Anthony Rizzo deal). Bailey Horn, acquired from the White Sox for Ryan Tepera, is on the IL.

DOUBLES LEADER: As a team, the TinCaps lead the HAC in doubles with 164. Individually, outfielder Tirso Ornelas leads the league in 2B with 25.

PATIENT APPROACH: The TinCaps trail only Wisconsin in the HAC in free passes (walks and hit by pitches), averaging about 5 per game. Fort Wayne is walking in approximately 12% of its plate appearances. The rest of the league has walked at a 10% rate. For more context, the Yankees lead MLB in BB% (10.8%). The Padres rank 3rd (9.9%).

REY RUNS: Reinaldo Ilarraza ranks 5th in the HAC in stolen bases (28).

CLOSE CALLS: The TinCaps are 12-6 in games decided by 1 run, and 7-9 in 2-run games... The 'Caps are 3-1 in extra-innings.

260 TO THE SHOW: 52 former Fort Wayne players have appeared in the big leagues so far this season, including All-Stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Trea Turner. Since the franchise was founded in 1993, a total of 197 past players have ascended to The Show.

MiLB RELIEF: After losing the entirety of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season and having attendance limited to begin 2021, the TinCaps and other teams are asking fans to visit MinorLeagueBaseballRelief.com and tell Congress to support the bipartisan Minor League Baseball Relief Act.

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