The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Captains split twinbill with Whitecaps
A doubleheader was on tap at Classic Park between Lake County and West Michigan on Aug. 14. Game 1 featured a pitchers duel in favor of the Whitecaps, while the Captains hit their second walk-off in two days to split the night.
Captains (47-42) lost Game 1, 2-0, but rebound for the 4-3 win in Game 2.
Daniel Espino was on the mound in Game 1 for the Captains, and he pitched well as he
went five innings with 11 strikeouts and one hit. But that hit proved to be the differencemaker as Rey Rivers sent a home run to right-center field in the third inning.
“It was the best I had seen Espino pitch all season,” said Captains manager Greg DiCenzo. “We’ve seen that in spurts, throughout the season and he located his fastball and elevated it when he needed to. It was impressive to see him go out and do what he did in that game and to finally get to see him pitch here a few weeks ago was good to see him have an outing like tonight.”
Lake County had many opportunities to get on the scoreboard, but left all six runners in scoring position. George Valera and Jose Tena, who have combined for six home runs through the series, only combined for one hit in Game 1.
Game 2 didn’t get off to a good start for the Captains. Hunter Gaddis gave up a tworun home run to Daniel Cabrera in the first inning, but responded and struck out the next two batters.
Gaddis finished the day by going six innings and allowed three hits as he struck out seven.
“I didn’t really change too much after that home run,” said Gaddis. “I think it was a well-located fastball and he just happened to chase it enough to put the end of the bat on it.”
The Captains’ bats also responded to help their pitcher out. Micha Pries hit an RBI double to get Lake County on the board, and a Jose Tena single brought Julian Escobedo home to tie the game. In the fourth inning, Raynel Delgado hit a home run to right field to give the Captains the lead.
“It’s good to see other guys see their hard work paying off,” said DiCenzo. “Delgado has been making some adjustments to his offensive part of his game and people are starting to see that. For him to have that home run to give us the lead is an example of the hard work paying off”
West Michigan didn’t go away quietly, as it loaded the bases in the seventh, and a sacrifice fly by Jose King tied the game at 3.
With the choppy waters, the Captains came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. After the first two batters were struck out, it came down to Quentin Holmes. But Holmes was hit by a pitch and awarded first base.
Next at the plate was Julian Escobedo. He took the ball deep to center field, and it dropped between two Whitecaps outfielders. It was hit deep enough for Holmes to score from first base for the Captains second walk-off in as many nights
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was in the gap and I knew Quentin had the chance to score,” said Escobedo. “He’s an exceptional base runner, he’s fast, but he also gets amazing jumps, especially when there are two outs.”
The Captains wrap up the series on Aug. 15 when they send Mason Hickman (6-6, 5.07) to the bump.