One-Hit Shutout Performance Propels Loons to Victory

June 15, 2022 – Midwest League (MWL) – Great Lakes Loons News Release

MIDLAND, Mich. – With one of the best pitching staffs in the Midwest League, the Great Lakes Loons have seen their fair share of stellar team pitching performances in the 2022 season.

None better than Wednesday night at Dow Diamond.

Five Loons pitchers combined to one-hit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers as Great Lakes cruises to victory, 5-0.

The Loons (34-25) scored first in the opening frame. Jorbit Vivas led off the Loons’ half of the game with a single, followed by a Diego Cartaya hit by pitch. After that, a throwing error allowed Vivas to score, moved Cartaya to third and put Alex De Jesus on first. With runners on the corners and still no outs, Eddys Leonard singled to drive in a run and give Great Lakes a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Great Lakes, High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, wouldn’t need any more run support, but they would add on immediately anyway. With one out in the bottom of the second inning, Vivas lifted a home run to the opposite field, his fifth longball of the season to put the Loons ahead, 3-0.

The first two innings were tossed by Carlos Duran, in his first Loons start of 2022. The 20-year-old righty spun two perfect innings and racked up four strikeouts in his return to Dow Diamond, after pitching in two games for Great Lakes last season. Duran, while not officially on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, was working back from some offseason shoulder discomfort. Duran spent most of the 2021 season at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, and had pitched just one inning in the Complex in 2022 before earning the call-up to the Loons.

Wisconsin (34-24) finally registered their first hit of the day to lead off the third inning, a solid double from Alex Hall. But they would not see another hit in the context. That was the lone baserunner allowed by right-hander Emmet Sheehan (W, 1-2) in his three innings of work. Sheehan retired the next nine Timber Rattlers he saw, striking out eight of them.

The Loons added more on offense in the third inning, when Jose Ramos singled to lead off the frame, later driven in by a Kekai Rios single. Another run came across in the fifth. After Leonard tripled to lead off the frame, the Loons loaded the bases with a pair of two-out walks. Ismael Alcantara was hit by a pitch to drive in the fifth and final run for Great Lakes, as they go on to a 5-0 win. All five runs were charged to righty starter Ryne Moore (L, 2-4), who…