LANSING, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps came up on the losing end of a wild game in a 7-6 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night in front of 5,459 fans at Jackson Field.
The Whitecaps pitching staff hit four batters and committed three errors in an unusual game that saw Lansing rally to take the lead on multiple occasions – headlined by a wild play late in the contest to give the Lugnuts their third win of this six-game series. The Whitecaps will need a Sunday victory to ensure a split of this set. The win gives Lansing its 100th home victory in franchise history over West Michigan, to which the Lugnuts hold an all-time record of 100-91.
The Whitecaps took the lead when Austin Murr drilled his first home run since joining the team – a two-run shot to give the ‘Caps a 2-0 advantage. An inning later, Parker Meadows blasted a home run of his own – his fifth this season – to extend the lead to 3-0. In the fourth, an error by Murr allowed a run to score to set up a three-run homer by Will Simoneit to give Lansing a go-ahead three-run shot for the second time in this series and a 4-3 Lugnuts lead. Wenceel Perez drilled a go-ahead, two-run double to help West Michigan retake a 5-4 lead in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, the Whitecaps committed a double-error on a comebacker to the pitcher’s mound that led to a stunning turn of events and three Lansing runs to give the Lugnuts a 7-5 lead. Gage Workman’s run-scoring single cut the ‘Caps deficit to 7-6, but the ‘Caps came no closer as the base hit ended the scoring in the contest.
Leudeny Pineda (2-1) surrendered three runs in one inning but collected his third win of the season, while Michael Bienlien (3-1) gave up three runs in two frames in suffering his first loss of the 2021 campaign. Charles Hall tossed a scoreless two innings out of the Lugnuts bullpen to earn his ninth save of the season. The Lugnuts improve to 48-53 while West Michigan drops to 47-54. Workman and Meadows each picked up a pair of base hits for the ‘Caps in a losing cause.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Lugnuts finish this six-game series from Jackson Field on Sunday at 1:05 pm. Lefty Adam Wolf gets the start for West Michigan against former Michigan Wolverine and Oakland Athletics top prospect Jeff Criswell for Lansing. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
