DAYTON, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps excelled in all phases to snap their seven-game losing streak as part of a 4-1 win over the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,111 fans on Saturday night at Day Air Ballpark.
The Whitecaps snapped their losing streak on the backs of a dominant performance by their pitching staff, particularly their bullpen, who tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in relief and gave up just one hit and struck out seven.
The Whitecaps opened the scoring when outfielder Eric De La Rosa was hit by a pitch before stealing second and third base before a two-out, RBI-single by Andrew Navigato to take a 1-0 lead. Wenceel Perez followed with a run-scoring triple to score Navigato and extend the lead to 2-0. In the fourth, a Daniel Cabrera sacrifice fly helped West Michigan take a 3-0 lead. The Dragons plated their only run in the sixth when Victor Ruiz collected an RBI-single to trim the ‘Caps lead to 3-1. In the eighth, Parker Meadows ripped an RBI-single to give West Michigan much-needed insurance and end the scoring in the contest.
Whitecaps starter Keider Montero (3-6) totaled 5.1 innings in the longest start by any Whitecaps pitcher in the series while striking out four in his third win of the season. Dragons pitcher Noah Davis (2-5) gave up three runs in five innings in suffering his fifth loss of the season. Jared Tobey and Angel Reyes combined to throw 2.2 frames of perfect relief before Zack Hess accomplished a rare feat by striking out four batters in just one inning to earn his fourth save of the season. The Whitecaps improve to 26-31 on the season as Dayton falls to 34-24. Navigato, Perez, De La Rosa, and Gage Workman each reached base three times in the win.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude this six-game series against the Dragons with a Sunday matinee at 2:05pm. West Michigan sends pitcher Garrett Hill to the mound against Jacques Pecheu for Dayton. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:50pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.