Whitecaps Fall to T-Rats on Friday, 6-1
May 2, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
APPLETON, WI - The West Michigan Whitecaps fell into an early hole and never recovered in missing a chance to guarantee a split of their six-game series as part of a 6-1 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field.
A four-run first inning for Wisconsin gave the T-Rats more than enough offense against a Whitecaps team that was stymied by Timber Rattlers pitcher and Milwaukee Brewers No. 14 prospect Bishop Letson, who tossed five scoreless frames while striking out nine as the 'Caps fell into a 2-2 series tie against Wisconsin with two games over the weekend to potentially decide the series.
The four-run Timber Rattlers first featured run-scoring singles by Eduardo Garcia and Juan Baez, sending 'Caps starting pitcher Rayner Castillo over 30 pitches by the end of the inning, forcing him to end his start prematurely. In the fifth, T-Rats infielder Jadher Areinamo launched his third home run of the season to extend the lead to 5-0, and fellow Wisconsin infielder Blake Burke blasted his third home run. The shot was his second homer of the series and extended the T-Rats lead to 6-0. The 'Caps broke up a potential shutout in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Seth Stephenson, but it was too little, too late, as West Michigan fell into a 2-2 series tie with the defeat.
The Whitecaps record sits at 16-9 after the loss, while Wisconsin moves to 10-15. Castillo (0-1) took the loss due to his challenging first and only inning, while Letson (2-0) earned his second win with a phenomenal performance. Max Clark led the way with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate. The Whitecaps bullpen continued its dominant run on Friday and has now pitched 26.2 innings through the first four games of the series, allowing just three earned runs (1.01 ERA). On Friday, part of that bullpen included designated hitter Andrew Jenkins, who entered the bottom of the eighth as a pitcher, retiring Burke on a flyout as the only batter he faced to strand the bases loaded. Jenkins becomes the first Whitecaps position player to pitch for the team since infielder Carlos Irigoyen took the mound on June 9, 2022, against the Lansing Lugnuts.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the penultimate contest of this six-game road series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers with a Saturday afternoon matchup beginning at 2:10 pm. Pitchers Joe Miller and Tyson Hardin get the starts for West Michigan and Wisconsin. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:55 pm on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids to catch all the action, or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.
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