LocalSportsJournal.com
Pitcher Matt Hall continued his domination of the Midwest League Thursday night as the West Michigan Whitecaps defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps 5-2 in front of 2,548 fans at Fifth Third Ballpark.
Hall earned his fourth win of the 2016 season, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out eight before giving way to the bullpen.
The lefthander has allowed one run or less in all six of his starts this year. The Detroit Tigers’ 2015 sixth-round draft choice has allowed just two earned runs in his last 25 innings of work.
The Whitecaps opened the scoring with a three-run first inning. Will Allen, Jose Azocar and Shane Zeile all drove in runs to help West Michigan take an early lead.
In the sixth, Fort Wayne rallied for a pair of runs on RBI singles. The ‘Caps added a pair of insurance runs with single tallies in the seventh and eighth innings. A wild pitch scored David Gonzalez, and Will Maddox delivered a run-scoring single to extend the lead to 5-2.
Gonzalez led the Whitecaps offense by going 2-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base in the contest.
Whitecaps reliever Gerson Moreno pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth save of the season.
The victory placed the ‘Caps back over the .500 mark at 16-15, while the TinCaps lost their fourth straight, falling to 18-14.
