Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-9) at Great Lakes Loons (5-11)

LHP Will Headean (2.45) vs. LHP Leo Crawford (3.27)

Sunday, April 23, 2017— Dow Diamond (Midland, Mich.) — First Pitch 2:05 p.m. — Game 17

YESTERDAY: The TinCaps turned a close game into a route late, besting the Loons, 12-2, thanks to an 8-run ninth inning. Starter Austin Smith set career highs for innings pitched (6.1) and strikeouts (7)…. At the plate, Fort Wayne set a season high for hits (15) and matched their season high for runs… 7 guys had at least 1 hit… 8 reached base at least once… 5 players drove in at least 1 run… Hudson Potts, Eguy Rosario, and Marcus Greene Jr. each had 3 hits… Fernando Tatis Jr., who homered and doubled, drove in 4.

ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Padres placed outfielder Jorge Oña on Fort Wayne’s 7-day Disabled List with a mild quad strain that occurred in the eighth inning Friday while running out a grounder. Outfielder Alan Garcia has joined the TinCaps from Advanced-A Lake Elsinore. Garcia spent the second half of last season with Fort Wayne, hitting .222 with 1 HR and 6 RBI in 52 games.

SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE BATS: Over the last 2 Saturdays, the TinCaps are 2-0 with 24 combined runs on 27 hits. (Last week Fort Wayne won 12-7 at Bowling Green.)

POTTS PUTTING UP NUMBERS: In his first 7 games of the season, Hudson Potts was 3-for-28 (.107) with 2 RBIs, 0 extra-base hits, and 0 walks. Since, he’s on an 8-game hitting streak in which he’s 12-for-36 (.333) with a double, a triple, and a homer. He has 7 RBIs and drawn 2 walks.

TATIS TURNING IT ON: Over the last 5 games, Fernando Tatis Jr. is 7-for-23 (.304), with 3 doubles, a home run, and 7 RBIs. This comes after Tatis was 6-for-41 (.146) with only 1 extra-base hit and 4 RBIs in his first 10 games.

LEAGUE LEADERS: Jack Suwinski leads the MWL in walks (13)… Eguy Rosario is tied for 2nd in doubles (5)… Rosario is also tied for 4th in stolen bases (5)… Fernando Tatis Jr. is tied for 7th in RBIs (11)… Brad Zunica is tied for 7th in walks (10)… Tatis Jr. and Reinaldo Ilarraza are tied for 9th in stolen bases (4)… Jerry Keel and Jesse Scholtens are tied for 2nd most strikeouts (22) among pitchers.

AS A TEAM: The TinCaps lead the MWL in walks drawn (68, 4.2/G) and are tied for 2nd in stolen bases (20)… TinCaps pitchers lead the league in strikeouts (173, 10.8).

MIDLAND’S MAJOR LEAGUE MANAGER: Midland, Mich., is where Mets manager Terry Collins grew up. The 67-year-old skipper went to Midland High School, and then Eastern Michigan University. Collins was drafted in the 19th round of the 1971 draft. The second overall pick that year? TinCaps pitching coach Burt Hooton.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILL: On this day in 1564, William Shakespeare was born. (Also on this day in 1616, he passed away.) Here are a few Shakespearean lines that could apply to baseball… “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Macbeth)… “And so I shall catch the fly” (Henry V)… “He’s safe” (Measure for Measure)… “O hateful error” (Julius Caesar). Parkview Field played host to a run of Macbeth performances last year.

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