[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he West Michigan Whitecaps celebrated July 4th by defeating the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a final score of 3-1 at Parkview Field.
In front of 9,182 fans, West Michigan (9-6, 50-35) quieted the Fort Wayne (5-10, 35-49) fans by taking the lead in the top of the first inning and holding onto it for the rest of the game. Whitecaps’ starting pitcher Buck Farmer combined with a pair of left-handed relief pitchers for another dominant pitching performance for West Michigan.
Farmer (8-5) pitched six innings without allowing a run, while allowing five hits and striking out four. Farmer extended his Midwest League lead in strikeouts, giving him 104 total for the season, but found himself getting plenty of ground balls on Friday night. With 11 of his 18 outs recorded via groundouts, the Whitecaps’ defense got plenty of work.
With Farmer keeping the TinCaps from scoring, West Michigan struck early to take the lead.
Three straight base hits with two outs started the scoring in the top of the first, with Wynton Bernard’s hit giving West Michigan a 1-0 lead. It didn’t take long for the Whitecaps’ offense to keep the pressure on the TinCaps, as Willy Adames led off the second inning with his 12th triple of the year before Jeff Holm’s groundout scored him to give West Michigan a 2-0 lead. Javier Betancourt tripled with two outs in the fifth to score West Michigan their third and final run.
Once Farmer exited the game, the Whitecaps took advantage of having Detroit Tigers’ reliever Ian Krol available while he is on a rehab assignment. The lefty pitched a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout for his first appearance with the Whitecaps. Krol is expected to pitch again on Sunday before he is expected to return to the Tigers sometime next week.
Fort Wayne threatened in the bottom of the eighth against Joe Mantiply. Dustin Peterson doubled to score a run and Jake Bauers walked, but Mantiply was able to get out of the inning by getting clean-up hitter Franmil Reyes to groundout. Mantiply retired the side in order in the ninth, earning his seventh save of the season.
West Michigan will continue their 10-game road trip on Saturday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Parkview Field. RHP Austin Kubitza (6-1, 2.37) is scheduled to start for the Whitecaps against Cody Hebner who is making his season debut with the TinCaps.
