PEORIA, IL – The West Michigan Whitecaps suffered their second straight heartbreaking loss as three wild pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning set up a walk-off RBI single by RJ Yaeger as part of a 4–3 loss to the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday night at Dozer Park.
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PEORIA, IL – The West Michigan Whitecaps suffered their second straight heartbreaking loss as three wild pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning set up a walk-off RBI single by RJ Yaeger as part of a 4–3 loss to the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday night at Dozer Park.
The loss drops West Michigan to just one game ahead of the Fort Wayne TinCaps in first place for the lone playoff spot in the Eastern Division with 15 games to play. It’s the second straight loss for West Michigan when they entered the ninth inning with the lead. The Whitecaps had won 52 of their 54 games when holding the lead into the ninth inning of a contest entering the past two games.
The Whitecaps took a three-run lead after four innings, with two in the third and another run in the fourth when Esney Chacon delivered a run-scoring single to put the Whitecaps up 3–0. The score remained the same through the fifth inning, as Whitecaps, starting pitcher Jackson Jobe cruised through five scoreless innings. In the sixth, Peoria catcher Jimmy Crooks, who has gone 6-for-12 with four extra-base hits through three games this week, delivered a two-run home run to cut the West Michigan lead to 3-2. The following two innings saw Whitecaps relievers Angel Reyes and Elvis Alvarado combine to escape Peoria scoring opportunities, but West Michigan failed to survive the ninth inning for the second consecutive night. Relief pitcher Erick Pinales entered, looking for the save, but gave up three base hits while issuing three wild pitches — one of which scored the tying run. RJ Yaeger collected a two-out, game-winning run-scoring single to send West Michigan two consecutive losses for the first time since July 25-27 against Fort Wayne.
The Whitecaps fell to 61-54 overall and 29-21 in the second half, while the Chiefs improved to 62-55 and 29-22 in the second half. Pinales (4-1) suffers his first loss of the season, while the Chiefs G.J. Rodriguez (8-2) collects his eighth win. Brady Allen and Carlos Mendoza had two base hits to lead the Whitecaps in a losing cause.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps move this six-game series at Dozer Park against the Peoria Chiefs to Friday night at 7:35 pm. Pitchers Dylan Smith and Trent Baker face off for the Whitecaps and Chiefs. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:30 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.