Lansing - The Lugnuts split a four-game series with the Fort Wayne Wizards, which was enough to win the season series 7-6.
If the teams finish with identical second-half records, the series victory could prove vital since neither team captured a first-half playoff spot. Through Saturday, the Lugnuts (13-10 second half, 50-42 overall) sit in third place, four games ahead of the Wizards (9-14, 48-42).
“It is good for us to win this one and any (season) series,” Lansing manager Julio Garcia said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing we’ll be all right.”
The Lugnuts took the final game of the four-game set 9-3 on Saturday night in front of 9,905 fans at Oldsmobile Park, 505 E. Michigan Ave. The day’s attendance put the Lugnuts at the more than 3 million-fans mark for their seven-year history.
The Lugnuts trailed 3-1 before their bats came alive. Lansing scored a total of eight runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, en route to a 13-hit night.
“It always seems like we just hang around a little bit,” Garcia said. “Those guys are going up there, getting good at-bats and finally the balls are falling in for them.”
Fort Wayne right-hander Mark Percosky got the first out of the sixth, but failed to get anyone else out and was relieved by right-hander Justin Craker (3-5) with runners on second and third and one out. But Craker couldn’t stop the bleeding either and eventually took the loss.
With a run already across the plate, centerfielder Mike Mallory continued his onslaught against the Wizards’ pitching with a two-run shot - his 11th of the year - to left, which put the Lugnuts up 4-3. Against Fort Wayne, Mallory is 14-for-40 with 15 RBIs. In the game, he finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Lansing catcher Warren Hanna didn’t start, but made a major contribution as well. He went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored. Hanna substituted for catcher Lukas McKnight who had been shaken up on a collision at the plate.
Coming into Saturday’s contest, Hanna had been hitting .186.
“Somehow I tend to get hits coming off the bench,” he said. “I wish it could be like that all-year long. I have a few good games here and there. Tonight, the balls dropped in for me so I was real pleased.”
Lugnuts’ left-hander Felix Sanchez (3-4) picked up the win in six and two-thirds innings. He allowed three runs - two earned - on nine hits, while striking out four and walking one.
The Lugnuts were due for an offensive outbreak after being held to five hits in a 5-2 setback Friday night. Fort Wayne left-hander Nobuaki Yoshida pitched seven and one-third innings, while allowing two runs. Yoshida got all the support he needed with a three-run fifth inning.
In Thursday’s game, the Lugnuts benefited from a strong outing by right-hander Sergio Mitre and won 5-1. Mitre pitched seven and two-thirds innings while allowing five hits and one earned run. Mallory made his impact in the first inning with a three-run homer.
In the series-opener, the Lugnuts suffered a seven-inning scoreless spell courtesy of Fort Wayne right-hander Javier Martinez. By the time Martinez departed, the Lugnuts were buried in a 7-0 hole. Lansing managed two runs in the bottom of the eighth and another in the ninth before falling 8-3.
Centerfielder J.J. Johnson, who went 2-for-5 in the series finale with two RBIs and a run scored, said the Lugnuts needed the momentum for the next series.
“Fortunately, we got the win,” Johnson said. “Now we have to carry it over to Peoria.”
The capital city squad started a four-game series with the Peoria Chiefs (12-9, 54-35) on Sunday at O’Brien Field in Peoria, Ill.
