MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Notes: August 3 vs. West Michigan (Game 109)

Published on August 3, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (15-25, 48-60) vs. West Michigan Whitecaps (14-26, 35-74)

LHP Cullen Dana vs. LHP Austin Sodders

Saturday, Aug. 3 - Parkview Field (Fort Wayne, Ind.) - First Pitch 7:05 PM (Game 109 / 138)

WATCH: John Nolan & Brett Rump (Comcast Network 81 & MiLB.TV)

LISTEN: Mike Maahs & Evan Stockton (ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com | TuneIn)

LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps beat the Loons, 3-1, in 10 innings up in Midland. Tucupita Marcano had an RBI single to start the scoring in the second. He finished with a game-high 3 hits. Efraín Contreras started and allowed only 1 run on 3 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Edwuin Bencomo followed with 2 1/3 hitless innings. Michael Curry hit a go-ahead RBI double in the 10th. Mason Fox won and closed it out with 2 perfect innings of relief.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: After consecutive wins at Great Lakes to split a 4-game series, the TinCaps have a chance to win 3 games in a row for the first time this half. The 'Caps last won 3 straight as they had a 4-game winning streak from June 11-14. Fort Wayne has won 3 consecutive home series at Parkview Field.

IN CONTROL: TinCaps pitchers have issued the fewest walks in the MWL this season, averaging just 3.0 per 9 innings. Fort Wayne also has the best ratio of strikeouts to walks (3.11).

MAKING HIS MARK: Infielder Tucupita Marcano has the 2nd lowest K% in the MWL at 9%. He also has the 3rd lowest Swinging Strike% (4%). Marcano ranks in the top 10 in BB/K ratio as well (0.71) with 27 walks against 38 strikeouts.

WALK & RUN: Outfielder Jawaun Harris ranks 3rd in the MWL in stolen bases with 26. For that matter, he's only been caught stealing 3 times, making him the only player in the league with 18+ SB and < 4 CS. Harris 4th in the MWL in BB% (15%)... Since July 15, in 15 games, Harris has slashed .298/.403/.491 (.894 OPS) with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 11 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases. In an article in The Journal Gazette on Saturday, Harris said earlier this season his foot was getting down late in his swing, causing him to be late on contact or swing too hard to try to catch up to the ball. Now he says he's been slowing down the swing, with the thought process that swinging at 80% effort is better, saying, "80% gets you 100, 100% gets you 0."

DWS, OBP: Outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton leads the MWL in OBP at .405. Williams-Sutton is currently on a 20-game on-base streak dating back to July 5... DWS has been hit by a MWL-high 22 pitches this season, including 4 times on July 22 vs. Cedar Rapids (that tied a MiLB record; it's never happened before in a MLB game). Fort Wayne's single-season HBP record is 23, set by Jon Schaeffer in 1998... Williams-Sutton is also 6th in the MWL in BB% (14%)... His wRC+ of 133 ranks 5th.

RUIZ BATTED IN: 19-year-old outfielder Agustin Ruiz ranks tied for 11th in the MWL in RBIs (48). Among teenagers, he's tied for the most. 20% of the balls he's put into play this season have been line drives, the 4th highest rate.

CURRY CATCHES ON: Outfielder Michael Curry's season got off to a slow start. After being in Extended Spring Training, he appeared in 5 April games before going back to Extended. He returned Memorial Day Weekend and went 0-for-6 in his first 2 games back. But in 51 games since May 26, he ranks 6th in the MWL in OPS (.866).

SKENDER SPARKS: Infielder Ethan Skender has hit safely in 11 of his 14 games.

LOPEZ LOCKED IN: Infielder Justin Lopez had a season-long 10-game hitting streak end on Friday. Nevertheless, entering the weekend, Lopez is 1 of only 5 teenagers in the MWL with 9+ home runs this season. The others are Peoria's Nolan Gorman, who was drafted by the Cardinals 19th overall in 2018 (he hit 10 before a mid-season promotion), Clinton's Will Banfield, who was taken 69th overall by the Marlins in 2018, Burlington's Kevin Maitan, who was rated as the No. 1 international free agent prospect in 2016, and Lansing's Gabriel Moreno, the No. 9 Blue Jays prospect (the latter 3 also have 9 HR).

FERNANDEZ ON FIRE: Cather Juan Fernandez is on a season-best 14-game on-base streak that started on June 28. During this stretch, he's batting .288 with a .362 OBP, 3 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 10 RBIs.

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

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