TinCaps Game Information: July 3 vs. Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers Affiliate)
MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Information: July 3 vs. Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers Affiliate)

Published on July 3, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (32-46, 5-7) vs. Great Lakes Loons (45-30, 9-2)

Friday, July 3 | Parkview Field | 7:05 PM | Game 79 of 132

LHP Kash Mayfield (3-1, 44.2 IP, 3.22 ERA) vs. LHP Sterling Patick (1-4, 58.1 IP, 5.09 ERA)

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MILB GAME OF THE DAY: Friday night's matchup between the Fort Wayne TinCaps and Great Lakes Loons is the MiLB Free Game of the Day. The game, starting at 7:05 p.m., will be streaming on MLB.com, MLB.TV, the MLB and MiLB apps, and the MLB Pipeline and MiLB homepages. The Loons featured a trio of MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects in Eduardo Quintero (No. 32), Emil Morales (No. 48), and Chuck Davalan (No. 88). They were ranked as the ninth-best roster in Minor League Baseball headed into the season. They will take on Padres No. 4 prospect and 'Caps ace Kash Mayfield, who makes his 13th start.

PACKING PARKVIEW: Another Thirsty Thursday meant another raucous crowd at Parkview Field. Among 60 games played Thursday, Fort Wayne had the second-largest crowd in Minor League Baseball, totalling 6,150. This comes after Thursday, June 18, when Parkview Field sat 7,901 fans, also the second largest in all of Minor League Baseball and the largest announced TinCaps attendance on a non-July 4th Thursday since 2018.

ANOTHER FUTURE STAR: On Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2026 MLB All-Star Futures Game, presented by Nike, on Sunday, July 12, at Citizens Bank Park, including Fort Wayne TinCaps left-handed pitcher Kash Mayfield. This marks the fifth-straight season an active TinCaps player has appeared in the Futures Game. Fort Wayne is one of only two out of 30 High-A teams to have had a player selected for this showcase each year since 2022. Outfielder Robert Hassell III became the first active player to represent Fort Wayne in 2022, before Jackson Merrill appeared in 2023. This year's rosters also include Padres No. 1 prospect Ethan Salas (2024) and Athletics No. 1 prospect Leo De Vries (2025), both of whom return to the showcase after representing Fort Wayne in their respective seasons with the club. Including Mayfield, the Midwest League will have nine players who have donned an MWL team's jersey this season in the event. Fans can watch other top prospects on the national stage live on NBC.

MONEY IN THE BANK: Fort Wayne left-hander and Padres No. 4-ranked prospect Kash Mayfield takes the mound Friday night for his second start against Great Lakes. The 21-year-old started on Opening Day three months ago at Dow Diamond against the Loons and faced just one batter over the minimum in three innings of work, striking out four and generating an inning-ending double play off the bat of No. 3 Dodgers prospect Eduardo Quintero to conclude his outing. Mayfield was the highest-rated Opening Day starting pitcher in TinCaps history.

KASH IS KEY: The 2024 first-round pick, Kash Mayfield, took home Midwest League Pitcher of the Week on May 15 against Cedar Rapids. Mayfield did not walk a batter, allowing one hit across five scoreless innings. The southpaw retired the first 13 batters he faced, including a stretch of seven straight strikeouts. The Edmond, Oklahoma native struck out 9 of 16 batters faced and totaled 56 pitches, including 43 strikes, 16 of which were swings and misses. Mayfield is one of two TinCaps to win Midwest League Pitcher of the Week this season after fellow southpaw Jamie Hitt struck out a professional-high eight in five shutout innings on April 25. He is also the 10th TinCap to win the award since the Midwest League moved to High-A in 2021.

ROSMAN RAKING: TinCap infielder Rosman Verdugo doubled twice on Thursday night, giving him seven two-baggers on the season. Verdugo has five hits in his last three games, including another two-hit showing on Friday against Lake County. The 21-year-old hit his 11th home run of the season on Friday, giving him a round-tripper in consecutive Fridays after having one last week at home against South Bend. Verdugo now has 25 across his TinCaps career, tying Tom Knauss (1993-94, 96-97) for seventh in franchise history. Verdugo is the 10th player in Fort Wayne franchise history to hit the 20-career home run mark. After leading the 'Caps with 13 home runs in 2025, 9 of Verdugo's 11 home runs in 2026 have come on the road.

WATERING THE WELL: Fort Wayne outfielder Kasen Wells drove in the first run for the 'Caps on a base hit in the ninth frame on Thursday. Dating back to June 3 (22 games), Wells is slashing .311/.407/.378 with a .785 OPS. The Graham, Texas native is Fort Wayne's best batter with runners in scoring position, hitting .321, while walking a team-high 38 times.

KT WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD: TinCaps outfielder Kavares Tears clobbered a pair of home runs Wednesday. It is the fourth multi-homer game by a TinCap this season, and the first from a 'Cap not named Jake Cunningham. His 10th and eleventh home runs, Tears is one of four 'Caps to reach double-digit homers. Tears is 2nd in the Midwest League with 15 extra-base hits (5 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR) since May 31. Playing 20 games, Tears has hit .296 with a 1.128 OPS in the stretch. He ranks 3rd in HR (8), 5th in total bases (54), 7th in SLG (.761). Tears leads the Midwest League with seven first-pitch home runs this season and is tied for fourth in Minor League Baseball. He is hitting .533 (16-30) when putting the ball in play on the first pitch of an at-bat.

SWEET-SWINGING ALEX MCCOY: TinCaps slugger Alex McCoy put together his third two-hit showing in the last two weeks and his team-leading 20th multi-hit game on Thursday. The No. 19 Padres prospect is the active team-leader in home runs (12) and RBI (41) in 71 games this season. McCoy leads the Midwest League in doubles (21) and is 2nd in extra-base hits (34). He is also fourth in total bases (131) and sixth in the league in hits (72).

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Midwest League Stories from July 3, 2026


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