MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Information: May 18 vs. Lansing

May 18, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (4-7) vs. Lansing Lugnuts (6-6)

Tuesday, May 18 (7:05 p.m.) | Parkview Field | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Game 1 of 6 in Series | | Home Game 6 of 60 | Game 12 of 120

RHP Matt Waldron (4.66 ERA) vs. RHP Rafael Kelly (3.00 ERA)

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

LAST GAME: The TinCaps lost the finale of their road series at Lake County, 3-0. Fort Wayne starter Ethan Elliott threw 6 scoreless innings, facing the minimum. He allowed just a single, and then picked that runner off at first base. The lefty struck out 13 batters. However, the Captains plated 3 in the seventh to secure their fifth win in the six-game set. The game was completed in 2 hours and 12 minutes, Fort Wayne's fastest of the season.

ELITE ELIOTT: Ethan Elliott leads all pitchers in Minor League Baseball with 28 strikeouts over his first 3 starts (15 innings). His 56% K% is also best in MiLB. Meanwhile, he's posted a 0.60 ERA and a league-low 0.47 WHIP. He's attributed his success mainly to his fastball command. With his heater topping out at 92 MPH, he complements it with a changeup and a slider. Opponents are hitting a paltry .085 against Elliott, 2nd lowest in the league.

EXCELLENT ELLIOTT: Ethan Elliott's outing Sunday was one of the finest in Fort Wayne's franchise history, dating back to 1993. He tied a TinCaps record for strikeouts through 6 innings with 13. In 2017, Michel Baez, who has since pitched for the Padres, also struck out 13 through 6 innings. The franchise record for Ks in a game is 17, set by Pedro Avila, in 2017 (he had 12 Ks through 6 in that performance at Great Lakes).

BENCOMO'S BRILLIANCE: Over 3 relief appearances, Edwuin Bencomo has been lights out. In 9.2 innings, he's allowed just 1 run, so his 0.93 ERA ranks 5th in the HAC. His 17 strikeouts rank tied for 4th. Put another way, he's struck out 45% of batters faced, or 15.8 per 9 innings-both are 2nd to just Ethan Elliott. Bencomo's 0.93 ERA is 5th in the league, his 0.72 WHIP is 4th, and the circuit's .143 average against him is

TRANSACTION: On Monday, the Padres transferred infielder Kelvin Melean from Fort Wayne to Triple-A El Paso. The TinCaps now have 27 active players on their roster (this year Single-A teams can have up to 30).

PARKVIEW FIELD POLICY UPDATES: Earlier today the TinCaps announced that masks are still encouraged, but no longer mandatory for fans at Parkview Field in outdoor spaces. Additionally, the team laid out a plan for increasing the ballpark's capacity. Currently, with socially distanced seating, the capacity is approximately 3,000, or 30%. Starting June 1, that'll rise to about 4,000, or 40%. Then on June 29, that'll elevate to 6,000-7,000. More details can be found at TinCaps.com.

JAWUAN GETTING ON: Outfielder Jawuan Harris ranks 6th in the HAC in OBP (.433). His .933 OPS is 10th. Harris has walked in 23% of his plate appearances this season, which is tops in the league.

BEING EXTRA: 22 of Fort Wayne's 65 hits this season have been doubles. That's roughly 33%. The 'Caps are tied with South Bend for the 2nd most doubles in the league, trailing Lansing's 31. With 4 triples, Fort Wayne is also tied for 2nd in that category, along with Wisconsin, while Cedar Rapids' 5 lead the way.

POWER BALL: The TinCaps have scored 17 of their 42 runs this year via 8 home runs. That's 40% of their run total. (Last year in MLB's regular season, teams scored 43% of their runs by way of homers.) That hasn't been enough, though, as Fort Wayne ranks last in High-A Central in runs per game (3.8).

DUE FOR A BREAK: Outfielder Tirso Ornelas has a .120 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That's the 4th lowest, or unluckiest in the league. An average BABIP is around .300. Agustin Ruiz hasn't fared much better with a .188 BABIP (13th lowest in the league).

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics



Midwest League Stories from May 18, 2021


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