Whitecaps Take Five of Six from TinCaps

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MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

Whitecaps Take Five of Six from TinCaps

May 18, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, IN - The West Michigan Whitecaps saw a pair of rehabbing Detroit Tigers take the field in the same game for just the second time in franchise history, as pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long and outfielder Wenceel Perez helped pave the way to a 3-2 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 7,394 fans at Parkview Field on Sunday afternoon.

Gipson-Long tossed 2.2 innings and gave up just one run, while Perez reached base with a hit by pitch in three plate appearances. The pair joins infielder Omar Infante and pitcher Darin Downs, who teamed up on duel Major League Rehab Assignments on July 25, 2023. The victory gives West Michigan a 5-1 record in a road series for the first time during the 2025 season, with the last occurrence coming from July 30-August 4, 2024, when the 'Caps accomplished the feat - also in Fort Wayne against the TinCaps. The win allows West Michigan to keep its three-game lead over the Lansing Lugnuts in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

West Michigan, who scored first in every game of this series heading into Sunday, was forced to play from behind for the first time all week when Fort Wayne plated a run with a first-inning RBI-Single by Braedon Karpathios to give the TinCaps a 1-0 advantage. The score remained the same until the sixth when Izaac Pacheco drilled a go-ahead, two-run double to help West Michigan take a 2-1 lead, and Peyton Graham followed with a run-scoring single to push the edge to 3-1. On the mound, pitcher Carlos Marcano tossed four outstanding innings while striking out five batters.

In the late innings, West Michigan reliever Colin Fields got the opportunity to record the first save of his professional career. After retiring the first five batters he faced, Fields hit TinCaps catcher Addison Kopack with a pitch with two outs in the ninth. After a four-pitch walk to Brandon Butterworth brought the winning run to the plate, Fort Wayne infielder Nerwillian Cedeno laced a ball down the right field line for a base hit. As Kopack crossed the plate and Butterworth was held at third, right fielder Patrick Lee, who entered the game for Perez in his first 2025 Whitecaps appearance, fired a perfect throw to second base to retire Cedeno, end the ballgame, and give West Michigan five wins during their six days in Fort Wayne.

The Whitecaps improve to 26-13, while the TinCaps fall to 20-19. Marcano (2-1) tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out five batters to earn his second win. The strikeouts were the first for the 'Caps righty after two appearances spanning nine innings without recording a punchout. Fields picks up his first career save by finishing the contest with two innings out of the bullpen. Outfielder Seth Stephenson recorded the only multi-hit performance for West Michigan, going 2-for-4, while Pacheco finished 1-for-3 with a double, run scored, walk, and two RBI in the victory.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps return home for a six-game series at LMCU Ballpark against the Great Lakes Loons on Tuesday at 6:05 pm. Pitcher Rayner Castillo is expected to take the mound for West Michigan. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 5:50 pm on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Catch all the action on the radio or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.

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