Davenport, Miller Deliver Shutout as Captains Win Third Straight Game

EASTLAKE, Ohio – In the third of a scheduled six-game series, the Lake County Captains (32-29, 63-63) defeated the Lansing Lugnuts (28-35, 59-69) by a final score of 4-0 on Thursday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

This marks Lake County’s third consecutive victory and 8^th shutout of the season.

With losses from the Fort Wayne TinCaps and West Michigan Whitecaps tonight, the Captains are now two games back of Fort Wayne in the Midwest League East Second Half standings with three games remaining.

Captains starting pitcher Aaron Davenport (6-10) had one of his best starts of the season. The right-hander pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, while throwing 6 strikeouts in 91 pitches (61 strikes). Davenport retired 13 of the final 15 Lugnuts hitters he faced, with Lansing’s Brennan Milone reaching base twice in this span on a walk and ground-rule double, respectively.

Jake Miller then made his third career Minor League relief appearance, earning his first career Minor League save. The right-hander pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and one walk, while throwing one strikeout in 47 pitches (29 strikes).

Offensively, both teams were scoreless through the game’s first five innings. However, the Captains loaded the bases twice in this span.

First, with two outs in the bottom of the 1^st inning, Jorge Burgos struck out swinging to end the frame. Then, with one out in the bottom of the 5^th inning, Chase DeLauter, Cleveland’s No. 4 and MLB’s No. 86 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

However, one inning later, Yordys Valdes drew a leadoff walk to begin the home half of the 6^th inning. After advancing to 2^nd base on a bunt groundout from Dayan Frias, Cleveland’s No. 25 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Valdes stole 3^rd base. Soon after, Cooper Ingle hit an RBI double to break the scoreless tie, giving the Captains a 1-0 lead.

Lake County then added three more runs in the bottom of the 7^th inning. After the first two hitters of the half-inning were retired, Nate Furman drew a four-pitch walk and stole 2^nd base. This led to a two-out RBI double from Jake Fox, Cleveland’s No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, which put the Captains ahead 2-0.

In the ensuing at-bat, Chase DeLauter hit a two-out, two-run home run to extend Lake County’s lead to 4-0. This was the 21-year-old’s 4^th home run of the season. DeLauter also hit a single in the bottom of the 1^st inning, as he has now hit safely in 34 of his first 40 High-A games.

First pitch for Game 4 of this week’s scheduled six-game series between the Captains and Lugnuts is scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. It will be “Enchantment Under the Sea Night: A Tribute to Back to the Future” at the ballpark, where there will be postgame “Friday Fireworks.” Coverage of the game can be found on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.tv, as well as through @LCCaptains on both X and Instagram.