MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Notes: September 1 at West Michigan (Game 136)

Published on September 1, 2018 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (31-35, 63-72) @ West Michigan Whitecaps (31-35, 67-69)

RHP Henry Henry vs. RHP Chance Kirby

Saturday, Sep. 1 - Fifth Third Ballpark (Comstock Park, MI) - 7:05 PM (Game 136/138)

LISTEN: ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com | TuneIn

WATCH: MiLB.TV (Subscription)

WHAT'S AT STAKE: The season comes down to this. The TinCaps and Whitecaps are tied in the standings with 3 games left to play. Whichever team wins at least 2 games in this series will earn the Midwest League Eastern Division's second half wild card and play the Great Lakes Loons (second half top seed) in a best-of-3 series starting Wednesday in either Fort Wayne or West Michigan. Game 2 and, if necessary, 3 will be in Midland, Mich. (Bowling Green, which won the first half title, and Lansing, the first half wild card, will play in the other Eastern Division Semifinals series, and the winner of that matchup will have home-field for the Eastern Division Championship Series.)

ALL ROSY: In the MWL, Jeisson Rosario ranks tied for 5th in walks (66), 6th in runs (78), and 7th in OBP (.373). Looking to advanced stats, he's 8th in BB% (13%), tied for 9th in BB/K (0.62), and 9th in Swing & Miss % (8%). Rosario had a solid first half of the season (.269/.381/.322 with 7 extra-base hits in 56 games), but has hit better since the break (.276/.364/.388 with 17 extra-base hits in 58 games).

SUWINSKI THRIVING: Jack Suwinski had the 2nd highest OPS in the MWL in August at 1.069. Suwinski slashed .383/.443/.626 with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, and 25 RBIs for the month. In his first 79 games of the season, Suwinski was at .203/.276/.328 with 11 doubles, 4 triples, and 5 homers. (With 7 triples on the year, Suwinski is tied for 6th most in the MWL.)

MILLER MASHING: In his first 23 games as a TinCap since making his debut Aug. 8, Owen Miller has slashed .362/.390/.543 with 11 doubles (most in the MWL), 2 homers, and 12 RBIs. The last time the 'Caps had a rookie infielder join them in the second half was 2014 when Trea Turner slashed .369/.447/.529 in 46 games.

ARI-SERIOUS?!: Gabriel Arias has an extra-base hit in 11 of his last 16 games going back to Aug. 16... In 38 games since July 19, Arias has slashed .286/.363/.521 with 14 doubles (most in MWL), 2 triples, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. (In 83 games prior, Arias was at .215/.273/.275 with 13 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 homer.) Arias had a 21-game on-base streak from July 19-Aug. 12, and a 10-game streak from Aug. 16-25... Arias has played in 121 games - tied for the 7th most in the MWL. His 27 doubles on the year are also top 10.

CYCLE: On Monday in South Bend, Gabriel Arias became just the second player in Fort Wayne's 26-year franchise history to hit for the cycle as he went 5-for-6 with 5 RBIs. The first, and only other, player to hit for the cycle with Fort Wayne was Rene Lopez on May 27, 1993 vs. Beloit at Memorial Stadium... Owen Miller hit for the cycle on May 13 for Illinois State against Valparaiso. Last July, playing for the Lakeshore Chinooks of the collegiate Northwoods League, Miller hit for the cycle twice in a 3-game span.

RUIZ IN RARE AIR: Esteury Ruiz is 1 of 2 players in Minor League and Major League Baseball this season with 10+ homers and 40+ stolen bases. The 19-year-old Ruiz has 12 homers and 45 stolen bases (2nd most in the MWL, tied for 6th in MiLB). The only other player in this class: Buddy Reed, who played for the 'Caps last year and now is with Double-A San Antonio. Reed has 13 homers and 50 stolen bags.

IN CONTROL: TinCaps pitchers have the lowest BB/9 ratio in the league (3.0) and also the best K/BB ratio (3.13).

CHANGIN: With the arrival of Agustin Ruiz, the TinCaps have used 55 players this season (23 position players and 32 pitchers). On Thursday, Joey Cantillo was the 14th starting pitcher the 'Caps have had. Fort Wayne used 53 players during the regular season in 2017. In '16, the 'Caps had a franchise record 63 players over the course of the regular season... Tom Cosgrove is the only pitcher who's remained on the active roster all year... Gabriel Arias, Jeisson Rosario, Esteury Ruiz, Jack Suwinski, and Jalen Washington are the 5 position players who've been active all year.

WALKING WOUNDED: 9 TinCaps are on the Disabled List... LHP MacKenzie Gore (fingernail issue), LHP Osvaldo Hernandez (left shoulder inflammation), RHP Jose Quezada (right elbow soreness), C Luis Campusano (concussion), C Juan Fernandez (right hamate fracture), INF Justin Lopez (broken left thumb), INF/OF Olivier Basabe (elbow), OF Tirso Ornelas (right hand bone bruise), and OF Robbie Podorsky (back spasms)... RHP Luis Patiño and RHP Dylan Coleman have been shut down due to reaching their innings limit for the year.

HOUSE OF HORRORS: It's hard to explain since the rosters in Single-A change so much year-to-year, but the TinCaps have struggled mightily at Fifth Third Ballpark. Last year Fort Wayne was 2-11 here, getting swept twice. Going further back: 2016: 3-5... 2015: 3-6 (0-1 Playoffs)... 2014: 5-5 (1-1 Playoffs) 2013: 4-8... 2012: 3-6... 2011: 5-9... 2010: 3-3... 2009: 7-4... 1-3 so far this year. So since 2011, the TinCaps are 27-55 here (.329 winning percentage).

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from September 1, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central