LANSING, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps received a two-run homer and three-RBI performance from catcher Eduardo Valencia to lead the club to its first road victory of the 2023 season in a 9-4 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday night at Jackson Field.
Valencia, now playing in part
LANSING, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps received a two-run homer and three-RBI performance from catcher Eduardo Valencia to lead the club to its first road victory of the 2023 season in a 9-4 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday night at Jackson Field.
Valencia, now playing in part of his third season with West Michigan, had hit only one home run in his first three minor league seasons before blasting six between three teams in 2022. Valencia, a native of Valencia, Venezuela, wasted no time collecting his first long ball of 2023. His fourth-inning two-run shot became the third Whitecaps homer of the season, placing him with outfielder Ben Malgeri as the only ‘Caps with homers through the first five games of 2023.
The game got off to a slow start as both teams went scoreless into the third inning when the ‘Caps scored their first two runs, highlighted by a balk by Lugnuts starting pitcher Mitch Myers. After Lansing plated a run in the bottom of the frame, the ‘Caps got two more courtesy of Valencia’s two-run shot to expand the lead to 4-1. The Lugnuts responded with two of their own, highlighted by a run-scoring double from CJ Rodriguez to tighten the score to 4-3 in favor of West Michigan. In the sixth, the ‘Caps brought home three more runs, highlighted by an RBI-double from Valencia before a run-scoring single by Carlos Mendoza. In the seventh, Lansing loaded the bases before ‘Caps reliever Cristhian Tortosa struck out Lazaro Armentaros to end the threat. West Michigan added a run in the eighth on an RBI-single by Jace Jung.
The Whitecaps pull even with Lansing for the Midwest League’s best record through five games, with both teams sitting at 4-1. ‘Caps reliever Tyler Mattison (1-0) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in relief to collect his first win of the season, while Myers (0-1) gave up four runs through four frames in his first loss of the 2023 campaign. The bottom of the West Michigan lineup was especially effective on Wednesday, as the foursome of Dillon Paulson, Chris Meyers, Valencia, and Mendoza combined to go 9-for-18 at the plate with five RBI and six runs scored. Meanwhile, outfielder Ben Malgeri extended his hitting streak to five games while breaking the franchise hit-by-pitch record, previously held by Billy Nowlin, by being hit for the 26th time in his Whitecaps career.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts on Thursday at 6:05 pm. Lefty Carlos Pena makes his second start of the year against Lugnuts hurler Joelvis Del Rosario. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 5:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.