Weary Captains return home, pound Dayton

Glamour is in short supply in the minor leagues. Just ask the Captains. It was 7:30 in the morning Aug. 18 when the team bus pulled into Classic Park after a long night’s drive from Bowling Green, Ky.

The Captains had just finished an eight-game road trip. They’d played four games in Michigan against the Lansing Lugnuts and won three of them. Then they made the trek to the Bluegrass State to play the Hot Rods. In those four games, they were swept and outscored, 32-10.

On the heels of that discouraging outcome and bus ride, there was the potential of a letdown by the Captains 12 hours later in

the opener of a four-game series against the Dayton Dragons at Classic Park.

Instead, the Captains turned in one of their better efforts of the season, hammering the Dragons, 10-1.

And they did it in front of 8,496 paying customers, the second-largest crowd of the season.

Captains manager Larry Day certainly was pleased with this upbeat moment.

“The road trip was tough, but the guys played great today,” Day said of getting off on the desired foot in the next-to-last homestand of the 2017 campaign.

The Captains snapped the four-game skid with a combination of impressive pitching and timely power hitting.

Starting pitcher Zach Plesac and Justin Garza combined on a three-hitter. Plesac (1-0, 0.69 ERA) yielded one hit in five innings to earn his first victory since being promoted from short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley on Aug. 7

The 22-year-old righthander and nephew of former big-league pitcher Dan Plesac was picked by the Indians in the 12th round of the June 2016 draft out of Ball State. He had reconstructive elbow surgery two months before the draft and is making an impressive recovery with the Captains.

“That’s a college performer with command of three pitches who has come here and is doing his thing. He keep guys off-balance,” Day said.

Garza, a 23-year-old right-hander, is sharing starts with Plesac on a piggyback basis. He worked the final four frames against the Dragons, striking out eight and issuing no walks.

Lake County center fielder Conner Capel demonstrated why he is the reigning Midwest League Batter of the Week.

The 20-year-old Texan drove in four runs. He smacked a tape-measure, solo home run in the bottom of the first inning and a three-run double in the bottom of the second. He has 20 home runs and 56 RBI.

“Conner is swinging the bat great now and using the whole field instead of just the pull side,” Day said. “He’s driving the ball more to left and left-center. The power surge is something we’ve been seeing the second half of the first half.”

First baseman Jose Vicente was 2-for-3 with three RBI. His two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, his fourth of the season, capped the scoring for Lake County. Catcher Li-Jen Chu connected for a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth. It was his 14th home run.

The Captains improved to 23-31 in the second half. Dayton slipped to 17-37.