EASTLAKE, Ohio – The TinCaps lost, 5-4, to the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Guardians affiliate) at Classic Park on Wednesday night. Fort Wayne nearly equalized in the top of the ninth inning, but the tying run was thrown out at the plate to end the contest.
With Anthony Vilar at first base and two outs in the ninth, Albert Fabian laced a double to the left-center field wall. Vilar, who finished the night with two singles and was hit by a pitch to reach in the final frame, tried to score on the play. However, Lake County center fielder Petey Halpin quickly collected the ball on the warning track and threw to shortstop Angel Martinez, who fired a perfect relay to the plate, where catcher Mike Amditis applied a game-clinching tag.
Fort Wayne (17-21, 44-60) is 10 below .500 in games decided by one or two runs.
Initially, the TinCaps led, 3-0, as center fielder Joshua Mears hit his second home run in as many games.Before that, in the first, left fielder Albert Fabian hit a solo homer to put the TinCaps ahead. It was Fabian’s second home run at the High-A level. He was promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore to Fort Wayne last Wednesday.
Mears came up in the fourth with Carlos Luis aboard after a double. On the first pitch he saw, Mears clubbed a ball 355 feet to left field for his team-best 13th home run in 45 games with Fort Wayne. San Diego’s No. 5 prospect has been hitting better than .300 with five home runs since rejoining the team on July 26 from the Arizona Complex League. The TinCaps led 3-0 through four.
With two outs in the eighth, Mears charged a ball to the right-field wall for a double. Olivier Basabe singled in Mears to bring Fort Wayne within a run, 5-4.
Mears also just missed an extra-base hit, and possibly a home run, in the second when he sent a ball to the top of the wall in left-center field, only to have Halpin make a leaping catch.Lake County (22-14, 57-45) erased the early Fort Wayne advantage with a four-run fifth — all after there were two outs and no one on base — spearheaded by Jonathan Rodriguez’s 410-foot three-run homer. In the seventh, again with two outs, the Captains plated another run to extend their lead to 5-3.Outfielder Wyatt Ulrich made his TinCaps debut in the loss. Ulrich was transferred to Fort Wayne on Tuesday from Double-A San Antonio. Next Game: Thursday, Aug. 11 @ Lake County Captains (6:35 p.m.)
- Fort Wayne Probable Starter: RHP Ryan Bergert
- Lake County Probable Starter: LHP Doug Nikhazy
