The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lingos pitches well; Captains snap skid
Captains pitcher Eli Lingos has been a solid contributor since the start of a regular season that is about to give way to the postseason.
The 23-year-old lefthander from California is making a case to be at or near the front of the rotation when the Captains and Great Lakes (Mich.) Loons open a best-of-three Midwest League playoff series at Classic Park on Sept. 4.
Against the Dayton Dragons at Classic Park on Aug. 25, Lingos (3-3, 3.80 ERA) gave up two runs on four hits in six efficient innings as the Captains won, 3-2.
The Captains snapped a four-game skid with the quality start for Lingos, selected by the Indians in the 22nd round of the 2018 draft out of Arizona State.
He made 20 relief appearances before getting his first start on June 21 in a seven-inning doubleheader nightcap against West Michigan. Lingos worked four shutout innings and got a no-decision in what ended as a 4-0 victory and combined nohitter with relievers Luis Araujo and Kellen Rholl.
Lingos turned heads that day and again on July 1 when he made a onetime relief appearance for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks. He more than held his own, giving up two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Altoona in another quality start.
Using a mix of a fastball that tops in the low 90s, plus a slider and changeup, Lingos checks a lot of the boxes valued by the Indians player development staff. He throws strikes and pitches to contact while also notching 91 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings.
Kyle Marman (5-4, 3.48 ERA) followed Lingos to the mound and blanked the Dragons over two innings to earn the win. Brendan Meyer navigated through the top of the ninth inning to earn his first save.
Raynel Delgado’s RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning proved decisive for the Captains.
Lake County got its other tallies on a solo home run by Daniel Schneemann in the bottom of the third inning and a RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth by Delgado.