[dropcap]J[/dropcap]onathon Crawford, the Detroit Tigers’ first round pick in the 2013 draft and a top pitching prospect, had his debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps spoiled Friday night when the Dayton Dragons pounded the ‘Caps, 9-6.
The Whitecaps were down 7-0 entering the top of the fourth, a hole that despite cutting into substantially, the ‘Caps couldn’t fight their way out.
Crawford’s troubles started in the second when he fell behind the first four batters, ultimately serving up a
two-run homer to Tanner Rahier that capped a three-run rally. Things continued into the third, seeing four of the first five batters reach base safely. Crawford left the gaming following run-scoring singles from Sebastian Elizalde and Joe Hudson. Reliever Jon Maciel was greeted with a two-run double by Daniel Mateo of Dayton to widen the ‘Caps hole to 7-0.
The Whitecaps managed to cut into the deficit, bringing the game to 8-4 by the end of the sixth inning. Dominic Ficociello, who went 3-for-5 on the day, managed to earn a double and cross the plate in this time.
Ficociello continued to aid the Whitecaps, starting a rally in the eighth with an infield single that helped load the bases with no outs. Dayton reliever Layne Somsen came in and issued a four-pitch walk to the first batter he faced, cutting the deficit to 8-5. Somsen would then strike out the next three batters.
Dayton added an insurance run in the eighth to extend the lead to 9-5. Raph Rhymes smacked the ball out of the park for a solo homer in the ninth, but the ‘Caps failed to capitalize, falling 9-6.
West Michigan had an outstanding hitting performance, earning 13 hits on the day compared to Dayton’s nine. Crawford took the loss on the mound after pitching 2.1 innings and giving up 5 hits and seven runs with an ERA of 27.00.
The Whitecaps (1-1) and Dragons (1-1) have split the first two games of the four-game series. The two teams will play once more today with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
