COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps scored three runs in the first inning and rode the hot start to complete a five-game sweep of the Lansing Lugnuts in a 4-1 win in front of 5,838 fans on a Father’s Day Sunday at LMCU Ballpark.
Starting pitcher Rayner Castillo (1-5) collected his first win of the season, while Detroit Tigers No. 2 Prospect Bryce Rainer collected two hits in a win that gives West Michigan a 13-4 record against their archrivals. The Whitecaps finished with just six hits, but three of them came in the first inning, as catcher Ricardo Hurtado and infielder Garrett Pennington combined for three RBI. As a team, West Michigan has posted a .275 batting average in June – the highest among any team in the Midwest League Eastern Division after posting a league-low combined average of .208 in May.
West Michigan opened the scoring with an RBI single from Pennington and a two-run single from Hurtado in the first, grabbing a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Castillo enjoyed one of his best starts of the year, allowing just one run — a sacrifice fly from Lugnuts infielder C.J. Pittaro — through five innings while recording five strikeouts, trimming the lead to 3-1. West Michigan got a critical insurance run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from outfielder Jackson Strong, increasing its lead to 4-1. Whitecaps relievers shut down the Lugnuts offense over the final four innings as Cole Waites, Thomas Bruss, Logan Berrier, and Ryan Harvey combined for four scoreless frames with six strikeouts to slam the door on the victory and complete the five-game sweep.
The Whitecaps improve to 3-0 in the second half and 27-40 overall, while the Lugnuts fall to 0-3 in the second half and 29-38 overall. Castillo (1-5) picks up his first win of the season, while Harvey secures his third save with a scoreless ninth inning. Meanwhile, Lugnuts starter Mitch Myers (0-1) suffers his first loss, allowing three runs through four innings of work. Pennington finished 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, an RBI, and his first stolen base of the season. He is now batting .339 in June with a .439 on-base percentage, six home runs, and 24 RBI in just 14 games. ‘Caps pitchers collected 11 strikeouts while holding Lansing to 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps hit the road for another series with the newly-minted first-half Eastern Division Champs in the Dayton Dragons – High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds at Day Air Ballpark for six games beginning Tuesday at 7:05pm. Hayden Minton is scheduled to get the start for West Michigan, while the Dragons starter is still to be determined. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.