LANSING, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps took full advantage of a stellar start from pitcher Jackson Jobe, along with the help of a rarely-used rule in the late innings, to pick up a 5-3 come-from-behind win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday at Jackson Field.
Jobe, the Detroit Tigers
LANSING, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps took full advantage of a stellar start from pitcher Jackson Jobe, along with the help of a rarely-used rule in the late innings, to pick up a 5-3 come-from-behind win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday at Jackson Field.
Jobe, the Detroit Tigers Top-5 Prospect, tied a career-high with nine strikeouts in the victory. The Whitecaps remain with a 2.5-game lead over the Fort Wayne Tincaps and 3.5 over Lake County in the Midwest League Eastern Division title race. The contest also featured the ‘Caps taking advantage of the Lugnuts violating the detached equipment rule to score the go-ahead runs in the ninth.
The Whitecaps finally took a 2-1 lead in the seventh before Lansing outfielder Junior Perez launched a go-ahead, two-run homer to give the ‘Nuts a 3-2 advantage. The score remained the same until the ninth when Seth Stephenson blasted a leadoff double before Gage Workman collected a game-tying RBI-single to even the score at three. With Andrew Jenkins at the plate later in the frame, a 1-2 pitch bounced in the dirt to even the count at 2-2. On the pitch, Lugnuts catcher C.J. Rodriguez removed his facemask and used it to control the baseball – resulting in a one-base penalty. The next pitch saw Jenkins swat a two-run single to give West Michigan its first lead of the night. Lansing manager Craig Conklin and relief pitcher Charles Hall were both ejected in a game that sent West Michigan to a record eight games over .500 this season.
The Whitecaps record jumps to 64-56 overall and 32-23 in the second half, while the Lugnuts fall to 56-65 and 25-31 in the second half. West Michigan reliever Angel Reyes (6-2), the franchise leader in games pitched, picked up his sixth win of the year, while the Lugnuts’ Hall (1-3) took the loss. Gabe Sequeira tossed a perfect ninth to record his fifth save. Stephenson reached base four times and picked up two stolen bases in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this series at Jackson Field against the Lansing Lugnuts on Thursday at 7:05 pm. Detroit Dylan Smith and Jose Gonzalez get the starts for West Michigan and Lansing. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.