Buck Farmer pitched one of his best outings of the year as the West Michigan Whitecaps defeated the Dayton Dragons 7-4 on Friday night at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio.
West Michigan (12-9, 53-38) put an end to their three-game losing streak while improving to 4-3 for the first seven games of their current 10-game road trip. Although Farmer was brilliant on the mound, a late rally against the Whitecaps’ bullpen gave Dayton (10-11, 46-43) a little bit of hope.
Farmer (9-5) was dominant on the mound, retiring 17 of the 19 batters he faced without allowing a run. He was perfect through three innings before allowing back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning before retiring the next eight batters he faced. The 23-year old right-hander struck out four without issuing a walk and allowed just two baserunners in six innings.
The Whitecaps’ starter has been solid all year, posting some of the best numbers out of all starting pitchers in the Midwest League. After last night’s game, Farmer is tied for first in wins with nine, he leads the league with 108 strikeouts and is tied for fifth with a 2.79 ERA.
West Michigan gave Farmer plenty of run support, staking him at one point to a 5-0 lead.
Wynton Bernard had a huge game in the leadoff spot for the ‘Caps, getting on base four out of five times, not to mention the solo home run he hit to start the game. Bennett Pickar added an RBI-single in the second inning before the Whitecaps’ offense rallied in the top of the seventh inning to provide some much needed insurance runs.
Dayton reliever Joel Bender gave up four straight hits to star the seventh, including an RBI-single by Raph Rhymes and a RBI-double by Dominic Ficociello. West Michigan later loaded the bases with two outs before adding another run on a wild pitch, giving the Whitecaps a 5-0 lead.
The Dragons must have been happy to see Farmer leave the game, as they rallied for two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to make it a 5-4 game. ‘Caps reliever Zac Reininger was able to hold the lead, getting a strikeout to end the eighth inning with the potential game-tying run in scoring position.
West Michigan was able to add two more runs in the ninth inning thanks to a defensive miscue by Dayton. After Francisco Contreras hit a two-out single to left, Willy Adames rolled a slow grounder to the left side of the infield. Third baseman Avain Rachal threw the ball past the first baseman which forced right field Jonathan Reynoso to attempt to make a throw to the plate to prevent Contreras from scoring. The throw hit the backstop, allowing both Contreras and Adames to score and give the Whitecaps a 7-4 lead.
Reininger (7) came back out for the ninth inning, retiring the side in order for a six-out save.
Sal Romano (5-9) took the loss for Dayton, allowing two runs – one earned – on nine hits in six innings.
West Michigan continues their 10-game road trip on Saturday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch against the Dragons. RHP Austin Kubitza (7-1, 2.55) is scheduled to start for West Michigan against RHP Dan Langfield (2-0, 2.62) of Dayton.
