MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Information: July 15 at West Michigan

Published on July 15, 2021 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (28-33) at West Michigan Whitecaps (27-33)

Thursday, July 15 (Doubleheader: Game 1 6:05 p.m.) | LMCU Ballpark | Comstock Park, Mich.

Games 2 & 3 of 7 in Series | Road Game 26 of 60 / Home Game 30 of 60 | Games 62 & 63 of 120

Game One: RHP Gabe Mosser (4.07 ERA) vs. RHP Beau Brieske (4.09 ERA) | Game Two: TBD vs. RHP Sandel De La Cruz (4.07 ERA)

TV: MiLB.TV | Radio: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM / TinCapsRadio.com (John Nolan & Jack McMullen)

LAST GAME: The TinCaps beat the Whitecaps, 2-1. Fort Wayne fell behind 1-0 in the 1st inning on an unearned run, but TinCaps starter Matt Waldron was superb following the opening frame. Waldron threw a career-high and Fort Wayne season-best 8.0 IP, allowing just 4 hits, the lone unearned run, and compiling 8 strikeouts. The TinCaps took the lead in the 8th on Chris Givin's 2nd HR of the year with the TinCaps, and Tirso Ornelas drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth. LHP Ramon Perez collected his 1st save of the year with the TinCaps, striking out 2 in his ninth inning.

HOW 'BOUT LAST NIGHT: In the 2-1 win, Waldron threw 8.0 IP, which is the longest start for any TinCap since Joey Cantillo went 8 innings on June 26, 2019 vs. South Bend. Waldron, after his 8-inning performance last night, leads the HAC in innings pitched (72 1/3). He's also 4th in ERA (3.24) and 4th in strikeouts (64).

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Fort Wayne has now won 4 games in a row for the 2nd time this season. The first 4-game win streak came at the end of June, when the TinCaps won the series finale at Dayton on June 20, and then opened the South Bend series with 3 straight wins. All 4 wins came on the road; 2 of the 4 wins came at home to open this win streak.

GROUND BALL GABE: Tonight's Game One starter, RHP Gabe Mosser, has been treated to a lovely run of form. Over his last 4 starts, Mosser has logged 3 Quality Starts (at least 6.0 IP, 3 or fewer ER), including going 7 innings twice. In his lone non-quality start over the stretch, he struck out a season-best 7 Great Lakes Loons on July 4th in front of the largest crowd at Parkview Field this year.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Tonight marks the 3rd double-header that Fort Wayne has played this year. In their previous two, the TinCaps are 2-2, having split with Dayton and South Bend at the end of June. All 3 double-headers to this point have been on the road.

EXPERIMENTAL RULE CHANGE: As of Tuesday, the "Step-Off Rule" is no longer in place. Pitchers are no longer required to step back off the rubber before throwing to a base. In 59 "first half" games, the TinCaps stole 67 bases and were caught 24 times (73% success rate). In 2019, through 59 games, Fort Wayne stole 52 bases and was caught 21 times (71%). Entering Tuesday, the league as a whole had 912 stolen bases in 1,165 tries (78%). At roughly the same point in 2019, when the league had 16 teams, there were 836 stolen bases (69%). So teams went from averaging about 0.86 stolen bases per game to 1.2 per game.

AT THE TURN: At the midway point of the season on Wednesday, the TinCaps are slashing (HAC rank) .228 (9th) / .337 (5th) / .357 (10th), .694 OPS (T-9th). Pitching-wise, Fort Wayne has a 5.12 ERA (9th) and 1.38 WHIP (8th). Currently at 28-33 (.459 W%), the TinCaps are in 5th out of 6 in the East Division, and 8th out of 12 in the league. The team is -38 in run differential, which is the 3rd worst clip in the league.

PATIENT APPROACH: The TinCaps have averaged the most free passes per game in the HAC, combining walks and hit by pitches. Fort Wayne is averaging 5 per game.

DOUBLES LEADER: Outfielder Tirso Ornelas leads the HAC in doubles with 21. As a team, the TinCaps lead the league with 118. Ornelas also has the 8th highest contact rate in the HAC at 92%.

JUSTIN TIME: In 11 games this month, infielder Justin Lopez has slashed .317 / .396 / .683 (1.079 OPS) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, and 11 RBIs. That's the 2nd highest OPS in the HAC in this range.

RUN, REY, RUN: Reinaldo Ilarraza ranks 8th in the HAC with 20 stolen bases.

RANKING RUIZ: Outfielder Agustin Ruiz ranks 7th in the HAC in RBIs (40) and HR (10).

CLOSER: Carter Loewen is tied for the league lead in saves with 7.

CLOSE CALLS: The TinCaps are 11-5 in games decided by 1 run, while they're 3-6 in 2-run games... The 'Caps are 2-1 in extra-innings.

260 TO THE SHOW: 52 former Fort Wayne players have appeared in the big leagues so far this season. Since the franchise was founded in 1993, a total of 197 past players have ascended to The Show.

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

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