COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps scored double-digit runs for the second consecutive night for the first time all-season and put the game out of reach in the early innings as part of an 11-3 blowout victory over the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,308 fans Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark.
Catcher Luke Shliger collected a two-run home run while outfielder Jackson Strong added a three-run homer as all but one Whitecaps hitter reached base. The Whitecaps win consecutive games for the first time since April 19, when the ‘Caps beat the Lansing Lugnuts 12-4 to complete a six-game series sweep.
The Whitecaps scored in the first inning as infielder Bryce Rainer plated Strong on a sacrifice fly before Dragons infielder Peyton Stovall added an RBI single in the second, leveling the game tied at one. Shliger added his two-run homer in the second before a three-run explosion in the third, featuring a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Junior Tilien, giving the Whitecaps a 6-1 lead. Rainer scored Strong again in the fourth on an RBI single before the Whitecaps added four more runs in the fifth, highlighted by Strong’s three-run homer, ballooning the lead to 11-1. Meanwhile, Whitecaps starting pitcher Rayner Castillo combined with relievers Juanmi Vasquez and Ethan Sloan to allow just one run through eight innings while striking out nine batters to maintain the 11-1 lead. Dayton pushed across two runs in the ninth as Stovall added an RBI double before Victor Acosta contributed an RBI single. However, ‘Caps reliever Carlos Lequerica induced a popout to end the game and secure the 11-3 win.
The Whitecaps improve to 19-37 while the Dragons fall to 31-25. Vasquez (1-0) secured his first win in the Detroit Tigers organization after being acquired via trade from the Toronto Blue Jays last week, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts, while Dragons starting pitcher Ovis Portes (1-2) suffered his second loss after allowing seven runs through 3.1 innings of work. The Whitecaps finished 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the blowout victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Dragons close this six-game series with the baseball world watching, as defending back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner and Detroit Tigers superstar Tarik Skubal returns to West Michigan for the first time since 2023 as part of an MLB Rehab Assignment to make the start on the mound for the Whitecaps against the Dragons Reynardo Cruz, scheduled for Sunday at 2:00pm. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:45pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.