Lansing - The Lansing Lugnuts got off to the right kind of start in their home opener Sunday, using a lot of offense early on to bury the West Michigan Whitecaps 12-3 in front of 7,013 at Oldsmobile Park.
It’s just the second win for the Lugnuts in home openers in their seven-year history. The team’s 3-1 record also is its best start in franchise history.
The Whitecaps (2-2) got on the board first with three runs in the top half of the first inning. But, the Lugnuts responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame.
First baseman Brad Bouras’ three-run blast to deep left highlighted a 10-run inning that put the Lugnuts on top for good. Bouras also drove in the last run in the inning on a single scoring right fielder J.J. Johnson.
Johnson went 2-for-5 with two RBIs while scoring three runs. He said there wasn’t a sense of urgency to put runs on the board, but his team was fortunate enough to quickly close the gap.
“They scored a few in the first inning, and we didn’t try to get them all back,” he said. “We wanted to just chip away at it, and we got lucky to score 10 in the first.”
Bouras said the home run was a nice way to start his season in Lansing.
“I had two strikes on me, and I was just trying to not strike out,” Bouras said.
He finished the afternoon 3-for-4 with five RBIs.
Whitecaps starting pitcher Jeremy Lewis didn’t make it out of the first frame and managed just one out while giving up nine runs, five earned. Lewis picked up the loss.
Lansing starting pitcher Felix Sanchez surrendered the three earned runs in the first. He threw just 2 2/3 innings, but struck out five before Nick Martin came in for relief.
Lugnuts catcher Lukas McKnight said the pressure of a home opener might have caused Sanchez’s tough start.
“I think we all know Felix is a great pitcher and a great prospect,” he said. “Maybe it was a little case of first-game jitters, but after the first inning he really seemed to settle down.”
Martin came on and pitched two and a third scoreless innings to pick up the win.
The 10-run output proved to be a fatal blow for West Michigan, as the Whitecaps failed to respond.
Lugnuts manager Julio Garcia said it was good to see a big number on the scoreboard after one inning.
“Big innings are few and far between for us,” he said. “The guys have been swinging the bat pretty good.”
The Lugnuts added two more runs in the third for the final runs in the game.
But the offense wasn’t what impressed Garcia most. He said it was the balance between hitting and solid defense and pitching, something the Lugnuts lacked last year.
“Last year we usually had one or the other,” he said. “It’s good to see a combination of them both.”
Johnson said the offensive output cannot always be counted on, so the Lugnuts have to concentrate on the fundamentals in the field.
“Defense is always important,” Johnson said. “You can’t hit all the time, but you can always play defense.
“And I thought we played pretty good defense today.”
After allowing three runs in the top of the first, the Lugnuts staff settled down and closed the door on the Whitecaps with eight scoreless innings.
Garcia said he hopes his Lugnuts can continue to keep minimizing mistakes in the field.
“We want to try and eliminate giving the other team extra outs,” he said. “We eliminate mistakes, and we feel like we’ll win a lot more than we lose.”
The Lugnuts tangle with West Michigan for the second game of a four-game set at 6:05 p.m. today.
