MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Win Again to Begin Road Trip

Published on May 31, 2022 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The Fort Wayne TinCaps dominated the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate), 9-1, at Dow Diamond on Tuesday night. Six of Fort Wayne's nine runs came in the second inning.

The big inning began with a base hit from first basemen Lucas Dunn, a 2021 eighth-round Padres draft pick who joined the team from Single-A Lake Elsinore on May 30. Dunn scored after consecutive walks to Agustín Ruiz, Kelvin Melean, and Anthony Vilar. Ripken Reyes walked as well to make it four in a row and 2-0 in favor of the TinCaps (18-28).

Fort Wayne continued to put the ball in play in the second after the walks. First, Corey Rosier grounded a ball to first base which resulted in an RBI fielder's choice on an out at second. Then, Jarryd Dale stung a line-drive hit to center field that brought Vilar home. Two batters later, Brandon Valenzuela grabbed an RBI for his third straight game with a single to left field that punched in Rosier. The TinCaps batted around with Dunn, who secured the leadoff hit, flying a ball to deep center field that scored Dale on a sacrifice fly. Fort Wayne led 6-0 at the end of two.

With a substantial early lead, left-handed starter Noel Vela diced his way through five innings with nine strikeouts, his second highest total of the year. Vela only gave up one hit and did not surrender a run, improving his ERA to 2.43 and his ERA in four road starts to 0.47.

The TinCaps supplied more insurance after their dominant start offensively and on the mound. Vilar snatched his second RBI of the game on a two-out single to right field in the fifth to make it 7-0. Two innings later, Ruiz homered to right-center field, picking up where he left off in 2021 as Fort Wayne's home run leader with 15. The Loons (25-21) scored their only run in the bottom of the ninth.

Following a 6-1 victory over Quad Cities on Sunday, Fort Wayne has won consecutive games for the first time since a three-game win streak from April 23-24 in Lansing.

Next Game: Wednesday, June 1 @ Great Lakes (7:05 p.m.) in Midland, Mich.

Fort Wayne Probable Starter: RHP Efraín Contreras (No. 21 Padres prospect)

Great Lakes Probable Starter: RHP Kendall Williams

Watch: MiLB.TV

Listen: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM | TinCapsRadio.com

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Midwest League Stories from May 31, 2022


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