COMSTOCK PARK, MI – West Michigan Whitecaps starting pitcher Sandel De La Cruz enjoyed a dominant spot-start in a 4-2 victory over the Peoria Chiefs in front of 4,625 fans Sunday evening at LMCU Ballpark.
De La Cruz enjoyed his longest outing of 2021, going five shutout innings while striking out six Peoria hitters as ‘Caps pitching held the Chiefs to 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The victory gives West Michigan victories in five of the six games they played against the Chiefs this week, and the most wins they’ve had in any series since sweeping the Lake County Captains in a six-game set from May 25-30.
Meanwhile, Austin Murr now holds the longest hitting streak of any Whitecap this season at 13-straight games – finishing 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the ‘Caps victory.
The Whitecaps scored first in the second as Austin Murr plated Gage Workman with a single before Cole MacLaren added an RBI to put West Michigan in front 2-0. Parker Meadows added a run the following inning on a fielder’s choice before Workman blasted his sixth home run in the sixth inning extend West Michigan’s lead to 4-0. The Chiefs got on the board in the eighth as Jhon Torres logged an RBI-triple before Todd Lott added a sacrifice fly, but it was too-little, too-late as Whitecaps closer Zack Hess set the Chiefs down in order to secure the 4-2 West Michigan victory.
De La Cruz (1-2) collected his first win and Hess earned his twelfth save of the season. Peoria starter Logan Gragg (2-6) suffered his sixth loss of the year, going three innings while allowing three runs on four hits. The Whitecaps improve to 53-55 as the Chiefs fall to 40-68. West Michigan needs to finish 6-6 in their last twelve games to reach 2,000 franchise victories during the 2021 season. Both Workman and Murr tallied a pair of base hits to pace the West Michigan offense.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps began their last six-game series of the 2021 season from LMCU Ballpark on Tuesday at 7:05 pm. West Michigan sends pitcher Zac Shepherd to the mound against a powerful Loons offense. 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.
