EASTLAKE, Ohio – In Game 2 of a seven-game series, the Lake County Captains (68-56, 31-29) fell to the Great Lakes Loons (72-53, 35-26) by a final score of 13-7 on Wednesday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.
Both teams played the game as their Copa de la Diversión alter egos, Los Picantes de Lake County and Los Pepinillos Picantes del Norte, respectively.
Despite striking for six runs over the final two innings of play, Lake County could not survive falling into a 13-1 hole in the seventh inning. After outscoring Los Picantes 3-1 over the first four innings, Great Lakes put the game out of reach after scoring 10 combined runs between the fifth and seventh innings.
Los Pepinillos Picantes played the game’s first run with a mammoth solo home run from SS Emil Morales, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 Dodgers and No. 24 MLB prospect. The 19-year-old finished a triple shy of the cycle in the contest, going 5-for-6 at the plate with four RBI.
Great Lakes pushed across two more runs in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by C Gio Cueto and a fielder's choice off the bat of RF/CF Eduardo Quintero, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 Dodgers and No. 20 MLB prospect.
In the fourth, DH Anthony Martinez put Lake County on the board with a towering solo homer down the right field line, his eighth long ball of the year.
Los Pepinillos Picantes flipped the script beginning in the fifth inning, which was the start of a 10-run, 12-hit surge across the next three frames. Great Lakes tacked on three in both the fifth and sixth innings before batting around the order in the seventh to score another four runs, making it a 13-1 game.
Los Picantes, however, did not go down quietly. The home side responded with a five-run eighth inning to make it a 13-6 ballgame, sending 10 batters to the plate. 2B Dauri Fernández, MLB Pipeline’s No. 22 Guardians prospect, began the rally quickly with a solo home run, his second High-A homer and first at Classic Auto Group Park. After the next three reached to load the bases, 1B Riley Nelson collected an RBI single before RF José Pirela drew an RBI walk. 3B Garrett Howe tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly before the inning was capped off with an RBI single from CF Tommy Hawke.
Pirela came through once again in the ninth, as he laced a two-out RBI double to drive in the final run of the night.
LHP Maddux Bruns (W, 1-0) earned the win for Great Lakes with 1.1 innings of scoreless, hitless relief, striking out five and walking one.
RHP Joey Oakie (L, 0-1), MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 Guardians prospect, suffered the loss for Lake County in his first start at Classic Auto Group Park. The right-hander surrendered three runs on four hits in two innings of work, striking out two and walking one.
Games 3 and 4 of this week’s seven-game series between the Captains and Loons are scheduled as a doubleheader on Thursday, Sept. 3, which is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. Game 2 of the twin bill is scheduled to begin approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. Lake County will celebrate Dawg Night presented by Thirsty Dog, where the Captains will pay special tribute to Bulldogs.
Great Lakes will serve as the home team in Game 2 of Thursday’s doubleheader, as the contest is a makeup game of the originally scheduled June 20 contest between the two teams, which was supposed to take place at Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan.
Both games will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, the MiLB App, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram. Game 1 of the doubleheader will also be broadcast on MLB.com as an MiLB Free Game of the Day.
NOTES TO KNOW
- 1B Anthony Martinez extended his on-base streak to 11 games with a solo home run, a single, and a walk on Wednesday night. The 2025 eighth-round pick out of UC Irvine leads the Midwest League with an .886 slugging percentage and a 1.377 OPS during this span.
- INF Dauri Fernández hit his second home run of the season with Lake County on Wednesday night. 10 of the 19-year-old’s first 12 High-A hits have gone for extra bases (seven doubles, one triple, and two home runs).
- OF José Pirela extended his on-base streak to eight games with an RBI double and a bases-loaded walk on Wednesday night. The 20-year-old is now batting .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles, three home runs, 18 RBI, eight walks to just four strikeouts, and a 1.778 OPS with runners in scoring position in his first 19 High-A games.
About the Lake County Captains:
The Lake County Captains are the professional High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians located in Eastlake, Ohio. Our mission is to honor the rich history of our organization, while also introducing baseball to a new generation of fans through innovative means. We are committed to supporting our community, sports teams, and each other by demonstrating passion and having fun every day.