PEORIA, IL – The West Michigan Whitecaps found themselves in a pitcher’s duel on the 4th of July, but catcher Pedro Pages provided the late-inning fireworks with a bases-clearing double as part of a 4-1 loss on Sunday night at Dozer Park.
The Whitecaps settle for a split of this six-game series by losing its last three contests after winning the first three games earlier in the week against the last-place Chiefs. West Michigan heads to battle the first-place Dayton Dragons beginning next Tuesday.
The Chiefs opened the scoring on an RBI-double by Brady Whalen before Whitecaps outfielder Bryant Packard blasted his sixth home run of the season off the batter’s eye in center field. The blast was measured at 424 feet and over 100 miles per hour off the bat of the Detroit Tigers Top-30 prospect. The homer tied the game at one, and it stayed that way as the ‘Caps bullpen worked in and out of trouble in the games later innings. In the eighth, reliever Bryce Tassin loaded the bases while a throwing error by infielder Wenceel Perez – his 11th of the season – opened the door for Pages three-run double to give Peoria the deciding runs of the contest.
Chiefs reliever Paul Schwendel (1-0) tossed two perfect innings while striking out four to earn his first win, while Tassin (1-2) gave up the deciding runs in the eighth to fall to 1-2 on the year. Freddy Pacheco worked the ninth inning for Peoria to collect his fourth save. The Whitecaps fall to 25-27 on the season as Peoria improves to 22-32.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps enjoy a Monday off day before heading to Day Air Ballpark to face the first-place Dayton Dragons in a six-game series beginning Tuesday at 7:05pm. West Michigan sends starting pitcher Garrett Hill to the mound against Dragons lefty Jacques Pucheu. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
