MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Notes: May 11 at Beloit (Game 34)

Published on May 11, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (15-18, T-5th East) @ Beloit Snappers (9-21, 8th West)

RHP Sam Keating vs. RHP Bryce Conley (Piggyback: RHP Angello Infante)

Saturday, May 11 - Pohlman Field (Beloit, Wis.) - First Pitch 7:30 PM (Game 34 / 139)

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

FRIDAY NIGHT: The 'Caps made it two wins in a row in Beloit on Friday night, rallying with three runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Snappers, 4-1. Fort Wayne's pitching was superb all night. Joey Cantillo went 5.1 innings in his start, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five. Adrian Martinez followed with 2.2 hitless and scoreless innings of relief, coupled by a clean ninth inning from Cody Tyler. Lee Solomon and Xavier Edwards chipped in RBI singles in the ninth to help secure victory.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE: A victory tonight would mark the first series sweep for the team since a four-game sweep of Dayton from April 8-11 at Parkview Field. Fort Wayne's win last night marked consecutive wins for the first time since April 10-11 against Dayton.

ROSTER MOVES: LHP Dan Dallas was transferred to Extended Spring Training, while RHP Sam Keating was added to the TinCaps roster on Saturday. Keating is scheduled to make his first start for Fort Wayne tonight, while RHP Angel Acevedo is expected to follow him.

ENOUGH ALREADY: Wednesday's washout was the first cancelled game of the season for the TinCaps since they aren't scheduled to see the Timber Rattlers again. But the 'Caps have already had 3 other games postponed by rain and another suspended by rain. The average first pitch temperature for a TinCaps game this season is 59 degrees. In reality, though, it's felt worse since that figure doesn't account for the postponed/cancelled game dates or consider how the temperature has dropped most nights during games. Thursday's first pitch in Beloit was 48 degrees and cloudy with a steady wind, while Friday night's weather was a bit better: 59 degrees with mostly sunny skies and little wind.

LAST TIME HERE: The TinCaps last played here July 23-25, 2016. On July 25, 2016, Anderson Espinoza started the front-end of a doubleheader. Unfortunately, Espinoza, a top Padres pitching prospect, hasn't pitched in an MiLB game since 2016. In April the 21-year-old underwent his second Tommy John Surgery in the last couple years. Meanwhile, Chris Paddack took the mound for the nightcap but during warmups experienced elbow discomfort and missed the start. He soon had TJ. Fortunately, though, Paddack has since recovered and is currently flourishing in San Diego.

X FACTOR: Infielder Xavier Edwards leads the Midwest League in Batting Average (.365), OBP (.438) & is tied for second in the league in Stolen Bases (11). Edwards is also tied for the third lowest strikeout rate in the MWL (8.3%) and has the lowest swinging strike rate (2.8%) in the league, according to FanGraphs.

MWL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday the Midwest League announced that infielder Tucupita Marcano was the MWL Player of the Week for April 29-May 5.In 6 games last week, Marcano slashed .538/.586/.654 as he went 14-for-26 with two walks, a hit by pitch, a double, a triple, 3 RBIs, and a stolen base. Marcano is currently on a 16-game on-base streak and an 10-game hitting streak (the longest such streaks among TinCaps this season). During his on-base streak, "Tucu" is batting .406 (26-64) with 4 doubles, a triple, a home run and 9 RBIs.

RUIZ RIPPING IT: Outfielder Agustin Ruiz is in the top 20 in the MWL in AVG (.291). He's also tied for 3rd in RBIs (23) & tied for 4th in Doubles (10). Ruiz has a 30.6% Line Drive % on Batted Balls-2nd highest in the Midwest League.

HUNTING HITS: Blake Hunt has the 15th lowest K% in the MWL (15.8%), but also the 13th lowest BABIP (.231). The catcher / first baseman had a good night Friday, going 1-for-1 with a single and three walks. His three walks tied the most for any TinCap in one game this season.

WALK & RUN: Outfielder Jawuan Harris has walked in 18.6% of his plate appearances this season. That's the 4th highest BB% in the MWL (and a jump from 14% for him last year as a rookie). Harris is also tied for 11th in Runs (19).

LITTLE STREAK: After an 0-for-22 drought, outfielder Grant Little has hit safely in 5 consecutive games, going 6-for-17 with 4 walks & an RBI.

TURNAROUND: Catcher Juan Fernandez began the season 0-for-18 at the plate, but is 14-for-31 (.451) since, including a trifecta of 3-hit games.

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 11, 2019


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