Lansing - With a playoff spot guaranteed, the Lansing Lugnuts had only one thing to play for Sunday afternoon - a chance to be in the record books.
An 8-7 win over the Battle Creek Yankees tied the Lugnuts for the franchise record of 38 wins for a half-season, as they now head into the All-star break.
"The record doesn't mean a whole lot to us," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said. "It's nice to finally put together some wins after we had that rough stretch on the road."
Lansing (38-32) made the win a bit difficult after great pitching early.
Starting pitcher Ronald Bay pitched six innings with no runs and only allowed five hits, but the bullpen struggled to keep up the quality pitching. The three relievers combined to allow nine hits, seven runs and only four strikeouts in just three innings.
"Our bullpen has been one of our strengths all season and we've only had one or two games where it's been like this," Garcia said. "It happens, but luckily we had some hitting to get us out of it."
The poor pitching by the bullpen had the Lugnuts down one heading into the bottom of the ninth. After a single by shortstop Carlos Rojas put the tying run on base, the next batter, designated hitter Brian Dopirak, hit his 20th home run of the season to give the Lugnuts the win.
"The pitch was good and I knew that it was out the minute I hit it," Dopirak said. "It's nice to get a win heading into the All-star break."
The Lugnuts got off to a good hitting start and an early lead. Center fielder Tony McQuade continued his emergence from a slump. Leading off the third inning, McQuade hit his second home run of the year with a bomb to right field. The homer would give the Lugnuts a 1-0 lead.
"I struggled before being injured and then being out for six weeks hurt me," McQuade said. "Now I'm starting to feel better at the plate and get my rhythm back."
After taking an early 2-0 lead heading into the seventh inning, the Lugnuts fell behind. Back-to-back three-run innings gave Battle Creek (33-36) a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Lugnuts would tie the game up in the eighth when a groundout by McQuade brought in first baseman Alberto Garcia. After an RBI single by Yankee designated hitter John Urick in the ninth, Battle Creek would take a one run lead.
Lansing would steal the game, however, on Dopirak's home run. And with the win, the Lugnuts went 2-1 in the three game home series against the Yankees.
In the first of the series, Friday night, the Lugnuts lost their chance to break the half-season win record. They stranded 13 runners on base in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees.
Lansing's winning ways got back on track Saturday with a 5-1 win, including some quality pitching and reenergized hitting. Starter Justin Jones pitched five scoreless innings and struck eight out to continue his return from a slump. McQuade went 3-4 with two RBI after hitting only .190 following a long stint on the DL.
Monday marks the start of a three-day break for the Midwest All-Star Game in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Eight Lugnuts will make the trek to Iowa for the Wednesday night game. A four game road trip to Dayton will follow the All-Star break before the Lugnuts return home June 28th to face the Clinton Lumberjacks.
