PEORIA, IL – The West Michigan Whitecaps held the lead for most of Saturday night’s contest against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park but gave up five unanswered runs over the final two innings, leading to a 5-2 loss in front of 6,549 fans.
The Whitecaps offense went cold after
PEORIA, IL – The West Michigan Whitecaps held the lead for most of Saturday night’s contest against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park but gave up five unanswered runs over the final two innings, leading to a 5-2 loss in front of 6,549 fans.
The Whitecaps offense went cold after the third inning, only sending two batters over the minimum to the plate over the final six innings. Luckily for West Michigan, they received help from other Midwest League teams, as both the Fort Wayne TinCaps settled for a split of their doubleheader with the Great Lakes Loons. At the same time, the Dayton Dragons fell to the Lansing Lugnuts to keep the ‘Caps with a 1.5-game lead in the Midwest League Eastern Division.
The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the first inning when Eliezer Alfonzo lined an opposite-field RBI-single to score Gage Workman and take a 1-0 lead. Another ‘Caps run crossed the plate in the third when Brady Allen delivered a run-scoring single of his own to expand the lead to 2-0. The lead remained the same through most of the contest as Troy Melton tossed three scoreless innings before lefty Carlos Pena did the same before surrendering two runs to lose the lead in the seventh. RBI-singles from Jimmy Crooks and Brody Moore in the seventh tied the game before Nathan Church’s two-run double in the eighth proved to be the critical moment of the contest as the Chiefs went on to win their third game of this series and put them in position to win the series with a victory on Sunday.
The Whitecaps record falls to 62-55 overall and 30-22 in the second half, while the Chiefs improve to 63-56 and 30-23 in the second half. Chiefs pitcher Edwin Nunez (3-1) tossed three no-hit scoreless innings to earn his third win, while Dario Gardea (1-5) allowed three of the four batters he faced to reach base – all of which came around to score the go-ahead runs – in suffering his fifth loss. In the series, Crooks has been a one-person wrecking crew for Peoria, going a combined 8-for-16 with four extra-base hits, including two home runs.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude the first half of their 12-game road trip and this six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park on Sunday at 2:05 pm. Pitchers Wilkel Hernandez and Inohan Paniagua square off for the Whitecaps and Chiefs. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:55 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.