COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps struggled to find their offense while a late rally came up just short as part of a 6-4 loss to the Great Lakes Loons in front of 4,745 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.
The Whitecaps brought the potential tying run to the plate in franchise home run leader Rey Rivera with two outs in the ninth, but a pop-out ended the comeback bid. The Whitecaps top five hitters went a combined 2-for-20 in the defeat.
The Loons scored first in the opening frame as Eddys Leonard collected an RBI-single to take a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Whitecaps starting pitcher Brendan White hit Joe Vranesh with a pitch to lead off the inning before committing a balk that allowed Vranesh to score. After a run-scoring single by Carson Taylor, Andy Pages blasted his High-A Central league-leading 27th home run of the season to open up a 5-0 lead after five innings.
In the sixth, the Whitecaps scored their first run on a solo home run by Jose King, and the Loons responded with Ryan Ward’s 26th home run of the year to take a 6-1 lead. In the eighth, the ‘Caps plated another run before a two-run double by Eliezer Alfonzo brought the ‘Caps to a 6-4 deficit with two outs in the ninth before Rivera popped out to end the contest and West Michigan’s bid to even their record at .500.
Jesus Vargas (7-5) tossed six outstanding innings of one-run baseball while striking out seven in collecting his seventh win, while White (3-8) suffered his eighth loss by giving up five runs in five innings. Alfonzo was the only Whitecaps player to tally a multi-hit performance by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and two RBIs. The Whitecaps fall to 55-57 as the Loons improve to 61-51 on the year.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the fifth game of this six-game series to conclude the 2021 schedule from LMCU Ballpark on Saturday at 7:05 pm. West Michigan sends lefty Adam Wolf to the mound against Great Lakes righty Carlos Duran. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
