TinCaps Game Notes: July 31 at Great Lakes (Game 106)
July 31, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release
Fort Wayne TinCaps (13-24, 46-59) @ Great Lakes Loons (22-15, 65-39)
RHP Sam Keating vs. RHP Stephen Kolek
Wednesday, July 31 - Dow Diamond (Midland, Mich.) - First Pitch 7:05 PM (Game 106 / 138)
LISTEN: John Nolan & Evan Stockton (ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com | TuneIn)
WATCH: MiLB.TV
YESTERDAY: The TinCaps began their fourth and final series this season in Midland, Michigan with a 6-4 loss to the Great Lakes Loons. Fort Wayne nearly battled back from a 5-0 deficit, but left a combined five runners on base in the final four innings on their way to a narrow defeat.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE: The 'Caps are looking to end a 7-game road skid after being swept recently at Clinton and Bowling Green.
MAKING A HOME IN THE MITTEN STATE: Entering this week's series in Midland, 11 of the TinCaps' final 17 road games in the regular season will be played in the state of Michigan. A three-game series in Lansing (Aug. 14-16) and a four-game series at West Michigan (Aug. 24-27) still remain after this week's series in Midland.
JERSEY GIANT: Tyler Benson smacked a three-run triple on Tuesday night, continuing his impressive early success with the TinCaps. The Montville, New Jersey native is batting .360 in his first seven games with Fort Wayne, including two triples, 3 RBIs and five runs scored.
TUCU'S TOUGH TO TOP: Infielder Tucupita Marcano has shown exceptional bat control throughout the season, owning the lowest K% in the MWL at 9%, the 2nd-lowest swinging strike% at 4.2%, and the 6th best BB/K ratio (0.77). The 19-year-old has been particularly consistent at the plate over the past month, slashing .301/.326/.358 since June 27 (29 games) with 15 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Marcano has 9 walks and 9 strikeouts in this span. Tucu went 2-for-3 on Tuesday night, his team-leading 30th multi-hit game of the season.
HARD CONTACT: Two TinCaps rank in the top 7 in the Midwest League in line drive % - infielder Lee Solomon ranks 5th in the MWL at 21%, while outfielder Agustin Ruiz ranks 7th at 20%.
GUTY IS GOOD: Outfielder Agustin Ruiz ranks tied for 9th in the MWL in RBIs with 49. The 19-year-old is on a 12-game on-base streak (dating back to July 15th), batting .313 during that time.
DWS, CF: Dwanya Williams-Sutton made his first pro appearance in center field on Monday and started in center once again on Tuesday... The 22-year-old has played 32 games in left field and 52 in right... Williams-Sutton is now officially the MWL leader in OBP (.406). He's on a 18-game on-base streak over which he's batting .282 with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 10 RBIs, and a .482 OBP. DWS has 7 walks against 10 strikeouts, plus 12 HBP... For the season, Williams-Sutton has been hit by 21 pitches, the highest number in the MWL. That includes being hit by 4 pitches on July 22 vs. Cedar Rapids. (According to records, no one has ever been hit by a pitch 4 times in a Major League Baseball game, and DWS was just the 6th MiLB player to have ever been hit by 4 pitches in a game.) He ranks 2nd in Fort Wayne history for HBP in a season. (Jon Schaeffer was hit by 23 pitches in 1998.)..."DWS" has been hit by a pitch in each of the last two games.
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 49 games since May 26, he ranks 6th in the MWL in OPS (.855), SLG% (.469), and RBIs (29).
LOPEZ CONTEXT: Infielder Justin Lopez, who turned 19 in May, leads the TinCaps with 9 home runs. He's 1 of only 4 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 (he also has 9), and Burlington's Kevin Maitan, who was rated as the No. 1 international free agent prospect in 2016 (he has 9, too).
Midwest League Stories from July 31, 2019
- Bravo's Pitching, Four-Run Innings Lead Bandits Past Bees 8-3 - Quad Cities River Bandits
- 'Caps Lose Sixth of Seven - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Big Inning Holds Up for Fourth Straight Win - Clinton LumberKings
- Clinton Clips Wisconsin With Early Runs - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Wild Chiefs Allow Cougars Ninth Inning Comeback - Kane County Cougars
- Chiefs Fall 7-5 Wednesday - Peoria Chiefs
- Marquez Continues Dominance with 8 K's in 5-1 Win - South Bend Cubs
- Rey's Walk-Off Double Lifts Dragons to 6-5 Win - Dayton Dragons
- Alvarez Has Three Hits in Walk-Off Loss on Wednesday - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Beloit Bats Dominate Early to Win over the Kernels 12-5 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Beloit Blows out Cedar Rapids - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Camels Still Have Not Lost - Great Lakes Loons
- Road Woes Continue for Fort Wayne - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Nuts Outlast Comeback Caps in Extras - Lansing Lugnuts
- Captains Lose Teeter-Totter, 10-Inning Affair - Lake County Captains
- TinCaps Game Notes: July 31 at Great Lakes (Game 106) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Tyler Suffers First Loss of Season, 4-1 to QC - Burlington Bees
- Dragons Announce 2020 Schedule - Dayton Dragons
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Dragons Notes for Wednesday - Dayton Dragons
- Hot Rods, Casey Jones Distillery Announce "Grand Slam Moonshine" - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Pitbull Apologizes to Fans Across the Region - South Bend Cubs
- Early Surge Doesn't Hold in Loss at Peoria - Kane County Cougars
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