Lake County Sentinel
Bullpen implodes as Captains fall in extra innings 9-5
BY TIM SHIRER
CAPTAINS BEAT WRITER
Monday Night marked the Midwest debut of both starting pitchers in game four of the series between the Lake County Captains and West Michigan Whitecaps. Zach Plesac made his debut for Lake County. Plesac was the Cleveland Indians 12th round pick the 2016 draft. Matt Manning made the start for Whitecaps. Manning was the Detroit Tigers number one pick in the 2016 draft. There was really no comparison as Plesac out pitched the Tigers number one prospect, but the Captains bullpen failed and the Whitecaps prevailed in 10 innings 9-5 in front of 3,128 at Classic Park.
After a scoreless first-inning the Captains tattooed Manning in the second inning, knocking him from the game after scoring four runs. The trouble for Manning when he walked Emmanuel Tapia to start the inning. Logan Ice then singled and moved Tapia to second. After Manning retired Michael Tinsley and Jorma Rodriguez, Miguel Eladio tripled driving home both Tapia and Ice to give the Captains a 2-0 lead. Gabriel Mejia then drew a walk to put men at the corners. With Luke Wakamatsu at the plate Mejia stole second base. Wakamatsu then doubled to right field driving home Mejia and Eladio, putting the Captains on top 4-0. That marked the end of Manning's night as Trent Szkutnik came into relieve him and finish the inning.
The Captains added another run in the third inning off Szkutnik when Ice had a two out single to left field. Tinsley then singled and Ice moved to second base. Rodriguez then singled off the pitcher and Ice came home with the Captains fifth run, giving them a 5-0.
The Whitecaps touched Plesac for a run in the fourth inning, which was his final inning of work. The run pulled the Whitecaps to within four runs at 5-1. Plesac looked good in his first start as he went four innings allowing only one run, it was earned on three base hits. He issued one base on balls and struck out two batters but did not factor in the decision.
The Whitecaps added three more runs and got within one at 5-4. Two of the runs came in the fifth inning and the other came in the eighth inning. The three runs came off Justin Garza as he relieved Plesac to start the fifth inning.
The Whitecaps, who own the best record in the Midwest League, did what they have done all year, battled and tied the game with a single run in the ninth inning off Captains closer Ryder Ryan. The blown save for Ryan was his fourth blown of season all have come since his appearance in the Midwest League All-Star game.
Whitecaps reliever Evan Hill got in trouble right away in the bottom of the ninth inning when he walked Eladio to lead off the inning. He then got Mejia to ground out to second base and Eladio moved to second base. Wakamatsu then struck out swinging and the Whitecaps then walked Longo, who has been white hot at the plate, reaching base in 36 straight games. Hill then threw a wild pitch, Eladio and Longo both moved up a base to put runners at second and third. But Hill was able to escape the trouble by striking out Conner Capel to end the inning.
Ryan, once again worked his magic in top of the tenth inning as he walked Derek Hill to lead off the inning. Hill then stole second base. Ryder recorded the first out of the inning when Danny Woodrow executed a nice sacrifice bunt and moved Hill to third base. Hill then scored when Cole Baumi hit a ground ball to Tapia at first base, he threw home and Hill was safe, as was Baumi at first. Believe it or not, things got worse. Danny Pinero then reached on an error by Eladio. Then the big blow of the inning came when Isaac Paredes smacked his ninth home run of the season over the right field fence, giving the Whitecaps a 9-5 lead. Thankfully, for all involved in the game and watching, after Ryan gave up a double to the next hitter Anthony Pereira, Captains manager Larry Day pulled him from the game in and replaced him with Dalbert Siri. Siri, put fans out of their misery and recorded the final two outs without any further damage.
Hill picked up the win for the Whitecaps. Hill went two and one third innings, issuing three base on balls and striking out four. With the win Hill improves to 1-0 with a 5.74 ERA. Ryan, took the loss for the Captains. In one and one third innings of work Ryan gave up five runs, four earned on four hits and issued one base on balls. With the loss Ryan falls to 3-4 with a 4.79 ERA.
The Captains Whitecaps will complete the five-game series on Tuesday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. Righty Spenser Watkins will make the start for West Michigan. Watkins, is 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA. Luis Jimenez will make the start for the Captains. Jimenez, also a right hander is 2-5 with a 4.86 ERA..
tshirer@lakecountysentinel.com or follow Tim on Twitter @IndiansTim Check out our IndiansNation fan Page
POSTED 08/07/2017 22:52
Captains starting pitcher Zach Plesac. Photo by Tim Shirer
