LANSING, Mich. – Ali Camarillo hit an RBI double in the third and a three-run homer off the batter’s eye in the fourth, and starter Zane Taylor pitched a career-high 6 ⅔ quality innings to power the Lansing Lugnuts (21-27) to a 6-1 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps (15-33) on Thursday night under the lights at JacksonⓇ Field™.
Tied 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Lansing found the deciding burst of offense. A Casey Yamauchi two-run double into left field plated Gunner Gouldsmith and Carlos Franco. A hit-by-pitch from Whitecaps reliever Carlos Lequerica sent Myles Naylor to first base before Camarillo ignited the Thirsty Thursday crowd with a three-run blast to center field, giving the Lugnuts a 6-1 lead.
That was plenty for Taylor, who posted his second quality start: one first-inning run allowed on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts, earning his fourth win of the season.
“It was good, I mean besides the first inning, (he) gave up a run, and the wind was blowing in, so that ball dropped,” manager Javier Godard said. “Other than that, it was impressive, attacking the zone, landing his breaking ball and being aggressive with hitters and elevating fastballs late.”
Through three games, Lansing’s starting pitchers, Steven Echavarria, Samuel Dutton and Taylor, have combined to allow just two runs in 19 innings.
West Michigan’s sole run of the night came in the first with a Bryce Rainer RBI single. The Whitecaps would have added another in the top of the second if not for a Lugnuts defensive effort.
After a walk to Cristian Santana, Junior Tilien doubled to deep left field. Devin Taylor fielded the ball, hit shortstop Camarillo for the cutoff, who fired a laser to catcher Carlos Franco for the tag on Santana, much to the excitement of Taylor.
“Immediately off the bat, I thought the ball was gone, and I was going just (to) back up home plate like usual, and I did not expect the ball to be getting thrown in at all,” Taylor said. “I kind of put my head down, I looked up, and the ball was coming in, tag made, and I mean, energy was right there after that.”
Griffin Kirn pitched in relief, becoming the 1000th player to play in a game for the Lansing Lugnuts. Kirn allowed one hit and zero runs with one strikeout in his 1 ⅓ innings on the mound. Gerlin Rosario finished up the game with a scoreless ninth, stranding one hit and two walks.
In addition to his home run and assist, Camarillo tallied an RBI in the bottom of the third inning with a double down the left-field line on the first pitch of the at-bat. Camarillo finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs, a double and a run scored.
“I got back on the heater,” Camarillo said. “I kind of got away from it for a week and a half. Got back to my approach and did what I did.”
Yamauchi finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. C.J. Pittaro went 2-for-3 with a walk.
After executing four double plays in Wednesday’s game, Lansing turned three on Thursday, increasing its MiLB/MLB-leading total to 63.
“The pitchers do the biggest part, which is to get a ground ball,” Javier Godard. “And the rest is just, it's routine. We practice that every day, and that's a pitcher's best friend. We get a ground ball, man on first, we're gonna have to try to turn it as much as we can. We're not thinking about how many (outs) we have and all that. It(‘s) just, if we get a ground ball, let's get two outs.”
Lansing starter Ryan Magdic will take on West Michigan’s Carlos Marcano on Friday night for game three of the series. Gates open at 6 p.m. and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 as JacksonⓇ Field™ hosts Military Appreciation Night. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.
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