MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

Too many double plays - Wizards lose 5-3

Published on May 26, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, IN---It has always been said that a pitcher's best friend is a double play ball.

If that's the case, the Great Lakes pitching staff will be jumping for joy all the way back to Midland, as they induced Fort Wayne into hitting into a season-most five double plays on Memorial Day, double plays that helped the Loons defeat the Wizards by a score of 5-3, in the final game of a four-game series at Memorial Stadium.

The double plays were turned by the Great Lakes defense in the first, fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth inning.

They helped the Loons maintain a lead they established in the top of the third inning.

A bases-loaded single by Andrew Lambo against Wizard starter Allen Harrington with one out in the inning scored Kenley Jansen (who walked) and Jovanny Rosario (who reached base on a single) to give Great Lakes a 2-0 lead.

Juan Rivera scored the third run of the inning, as he came in from third base as Lambo was thrown out trying to steal second base.

A one-out home run hit by Alfredo Silverio off Harrington in the top of the sixth increased the Loon advantage to 4-0.

Fort Wayne got back into the contest when they came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs to trim the deficit to 4-3.

One of the runs came as a result of a bases-loaded walk issued by Great Lakes starting pitcher Kyle Smit.

Another came as Yefri Carvajal was hitting into a double play, and the third, on a wild pitch thrown by Loons relief pitcher Jon Dutton.

Great Lakes scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh, on back-to-back doubles hit by Pedro Baez and Jansen against Wizard reliever Robert Woodard, extending their lead to 5-3.

A bizarre play snuffed out a potential rally by Fort Wayne in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out and Luis Martinez on at first base, Drew Cumberland singled to right field.

Martinez tried to advance from first base to third base on the hit, but was thrown out on a throw from Alfredo Silverio to third baseman Baez.

Umpire Jared Gary initially looked like he ruled Martinez safe on the play, when a ball started rolling on the infield, however, he changed his mind when he was shown (by Baez) that the ball in play was still in his (Baez') glove.

On seeing the ball rolling in the infield, Cumberland took off for second base, only to be tagged out by second baseman Rivera, after Rivera took a throw from Baez with the ball that was in play, completing a most unusual double play.

It was ruled that the ball that rolled on the ground was a ball that allegedly fell out of Gary's ball bag.

It would be the last threat posed by the Wizards, as only one other batter (Angel Mercado) reached base safely in the game (on a single leading off in the ninth inning).

Smit (1-3) picked up the win, while Harrington (2-2) suffered the loss, with Gavin Kutz collecting his first save of the season.

The loss snapped a season-high four-game winning streak for Fort Wayne (25-26), and also dropped them into a virtual tie with Dayton (24-25) for third place in the Midwest League's Eastern Division.

After a day off, the Wizards will welcome the Dragons to Fort Wayne for a four-game series, beginning on Wednesday night at Memorial Stadium.

The starting pitchers are expected to be right-handers Jeremy McBryde (1-4, 4.38) of the Wizards and Dayton's Curtis Partch (2-6, 6.00). The game can be heard on both the radio (ESPN Radio 1380) and the Internet (www.fortwaynewizards.com), beginning with the Hupe Insurance Services Pre-Game Show at 5:40 p.m. (EDT).

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

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



Midwest League Stories from May 26, 2008


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