MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Whitecaps Held To Four Hits By Urias, Loons

July 3, 2013 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


MIDLAND, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps were held to just four hits during an 8-0 shutout loss against the Great Lakes Loons on Wednesday night at the Dow Diamond.

After splitting the first two games of a four-game home-and-home series in Midland, West Michigan (6-8, 39-45) and Great Lakes (11-3, 38-46) will play the next two games at Fifth Third Ballpark. The series continues with a Fourth of July contest on Thursday night in West Michigan.

Wednesday's game belonged to 16-year-old pitching phenom Julio Urias (2-0), who established new career highs with eight strikeouts and six innings pitched while leading a trio of Loons' pitchers in a four-hit shutout. The Mexican southpaw struck out four of the first five batters he faced and was perfect after his first trip through the order. He retired 18 of the 20 batters that he faced, allowing nothing outside of a leadoff single to Danry Vasquez in the fourth inning and a leadoff double by Connor Harrell in the fifth.

Relievers Owen Jones and Craig Stem combined to cover the final three innings. The Whitecaps' offense was blanked for the ninth time this season and struck out a season-high 14 times for the second time this year.

The Great Lakes offense chased Endrys Briceno (4-6) from the game after just three innings.

James Baldwin tripled with one out in the second and scored when Briceno was charged with a balk as he started to make his next pitch to the plate. Later in the inning, Great Lakes rallied for three consecutive two-out singles and jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Jeremy Rathjen doubled home another two-out run in the third, part of a 2-for-3 day in which he also tripled and scored two runs.

The Loons doubled their 4-0 lead and blew the game open in the sixth. After Rathjen tripled and scored on a single by Jose Capellan, Corey Seager later belted a three-run homer to make it an 8-0 game.

Seager went 2-for-3 with four RBI, leading a 12-hit attack by Great Lakes in which eight of the nine batters hit safely and four different players registered multi-hit games. Six of the Loons' eight runs were scored with two outs.

Briceno was charged with four runs on seven hits over three innings in the loss.

During the ballgame, 2013 Detroit Tigers' draftees Jeff Thompson and Curt Powell made their Midwest League debuts. The two were added to the Whitecaps' roster on Tuesday, raising the number of recent Tigers' draft picks on the West Michigan roster to six.

Johnson, a third-round pick out of the University of Louisville after winning Big East Pitcher of the Year honors, made his professional debut with one strikeout during a scoreless eighth inning. Powell, a 21st-rounder out of the University of Georgia, was 0-for-3 with a strikeout after being called up from short-season Connecticut.

The Whitecaps continue a four-game home-and-home series against the Great Lakes Loons on Thursday night at Fifth Third Ballpark with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch. RHP Chad Smith (3-4, 2.28) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan as the Whitecaps celebrate the Fourth of July with a special post-game fireworks show and an Altogas Thrifty Thursday. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

Check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 3, 2013


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