[dropcap]H[/dropcap]eavy rain might have caused a two-hour delay for the West Michigan Whitecaps on Wednesday night, but the 7-0 loss to the Great Lakes Loons delayed the Whitecaps from clinching a spot in the postseason.
The magic number for the Whitecaps (39-27) remains at one, meaning they can clinch either with a win or a loss by the Dayton Dragons. With the loss to the Loons (31-35) the Whitecaps dropped to a half-game behind South Bend in the Midwest League-East standings. The top two teams from each division earn a spot in the playoffs.
Backed behind quality pitching as of late, Wednesday was the first time the Whitecaps as a team allowed more than two runs in a game since May 27.
Crawford
After the over two-hour delay, the Loons were able to score four runs on Whitecaps’ starter Jonathon Crawford in the first two innings.
Paul Heonecke put the Loons on the board in the first inning with an RBI double, but the Loons added plenty of more runs in the second inning.
Great Lakes was able to load the bases with one out in the second, eventually scoring all three runs. Following a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly, Jacob Scavuzzo doubled down the left-field line to give the Loons a 4-0 lead.
After the rough start, Crawford (3-2) settled down and retired the next 12 batters he faced before a base hit in the sixth inning ended his night. Crawford allowed four runs in 5.2 innings, making it the first time since April 4 he allowed more than two runs in an outing.
Greg Harris (5-4) earned the win for the Loons, allowing only two hits in five innings. Victor Arano (3) earned the save, pitching four scoreless innings in relief.
The Whitecaps will look to clinch a playoff birth on Thursday when they play the Loons at Dow Diamond at 7:05 p.m. RHP Buck Farmer (6-4, 2.60 ERA) is scheduled to start for West Michigan against RHP Jonathan Martinez (4-5, 3.76 ERA) of Great Lakes.
