Isaacs, Captains walk off Whitecaps

“I try to slow the game down, slow down my mind and put a good swing on the ball.” Captains outfielder Todd Isaacs

Captains center fielder Todd Isaacs has a flair for the dramatic.

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning at Classic Park on Aug. 19, Isaacs lashed a line-drive single to left field to score Jose Vicente from second base.

Isaacs’ third walkoff hit this season at Classic Park propelled the Captains to a 5-4 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps.

It was the Captains 10th walkoff win this season at home.

“I try to slow the game down, slow down my mind and put a good swing on the ball,” Isaacs said, smiling, when asked about his recipe for success in extra frames.

Captains manager Luke Carlin pointed to the focus Isaacs has exhibited in extra innings.

“The quality of his atbats with games on the line is so sharp,” Carlin said.

With their third straight win, the Captains improved to 24-31 in the second half of the Midwest League season. West Michigan slipped to 26-29.

The Whitecaps did all of the their damage in the top of the fourth inning, getting to Lake County starter Francisco Perez for

four runs on three hits and a wild pitch. West Michigan third baseman, Colby Bortles, younger brother of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, had a two-run single.

Perez was solid in the other four innings he worked, blanking the Whitecaps on one hit.

Lake County reliever Maiker Manzanillo followed Perez to the mound and kept the Whitecaps off the board in the top of the sixth inning. Adam Scott was even better, contributing three scoreless innings.

Captains batters chipped away at the Whitecaps’ lead. Second baseman Richie Palacios got the ball rolling with a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was his first home in 18 games since being promoted from short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley on July 20.

An RBI double by catcher Josh Rolette in the bottom of the sixth narrowed the gap to 4-2. Elvis Perez raced home on a double-play grounder in the bottom of the seventh to make it 4-3. An RBI single by Perez in the bottom of the eighth chased home Vicente and pulled the Captains into a 4-4 tie.

Scott worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the top of the ninth to set the stage for Isaacs’ heroics in the bottom of the 10th inning. The victory went to reliever Jonathan Teaney (2-3, 6.65 ERA).