Lansing scores six runs in 6th inning Tuesday night
MIDLAND -- The Great Lakes Loons surrendered two big innings in Tuesday night’s 10-1 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts, dropping the Loons to second place in the Midwest League’s eastern division, one half-game behind Lansing.
The game held a score of 2-1 through five frames before Lansing opened it up with eight runs over the next two innings.
After pitching a clean 1-2-3 inning, Loons reliever Raul Burgos struggled in the sixth, issuing three hits, three walks, and one hit batsmen. A pair of errors from Loons infielders prolonged the inning, making only two of Burgos’ six runs earned. Burgos threw 51 pitches in the sixth inning alone and was replaced by Robert Boothe before recording the final out of the frame.
Boothe pitched Lance Durham into a groundout to end the inning, but ran into trouble in the seventh with two lead-off singles and a hit by pitch to load the bases. A groundout scored one of Lansing’s runs, followed by Boothe’s sixth wild pitch of the season to score the other.
“You don’t want a lot of games that are decided by nine runs, but a lot of times it’s better to get beat badly then it is to lose two or three close ones,” Loons manager John Shoemaker said after the game. “Tonight we really had no chance. We didn’t hit, we didn’t really play defense well and we didn’t pitch well…Burgos pitched a good fifth inning, but struggled with control in the sixth and for whatever reason he just couldn’t get out of that sixth inning, and that pretty much was the game.”
Loons starting pitcher Derek Cone surrendered a two-out two-run home run in the first inning, but settled in to pitch the next three innings scoreless. He accumulated season-high six strikeouts on the night to only two walks in the losing effort. Loons closer Shawn Tolleson also pitched for an inning, where he grabbed two more strikeouts to move up to 32 in 14 innings pitched this season.
Offensively the Loons were held to six hits, two from catcher Michael Pericht, who scored the Loons only run in the second inning courtesy of a Jesse Bosnik single. Also of note was catcher Steve Cilladi, activated Tuesday from the disabled list, who was subbed in to pinch-hit for Jon Garcia in the ninth inning. With his first at-bat of the season, Cilladi hit an 0-2 pitch right back at the Lansing pitcher that deflected to third base for an infield single.
The Loons will play game two of their three-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts looking for a win to put them back in first place. Getting the start for the Loons will be RHP Tim Sexton (2-2, 4.25) against the Lugnuts RHP Misaul Diaz (0-3, 6.38).
