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By David S. Glasier
The numbers suddenly don’t bode well for the captains’ late season playoff push.
With a 4-1 loss to the Dayton Dragons on September 11 at Classic Park, the Captains slipped to 60-53 in High-A Central.
There’s only one playoff berth left in High-A Central. Heading into the September 12 games, the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) cores are 63-50 and are in charge to secure a playoff spot.
The Quad Cities (Iowa) River Bandits are 71-39 and clinched the other playoff spot last week.
That leaves the Captains three games behind against Cedar Rapids with seven games remaining in the regular season.
On the plus side, those seven games are at Classic Park. After finishing the series against Dayton on September 12, the Captains welcome the Beloit, Wis. Snappers in a six-game series starting September 14.
On the realist side, Cedar Rapids are expected to crumble in their remaining games and the captains would likely have to run the table to pass them.
After losing their last two games and five of their last eight, the captains do not display the shape that indicates they are catching fire and hurtling down the pits.
Not all of the news for the captains’ second straight setback was not all negative.
Much-vaunted pitcher prospect Daniel Espino had his best start in a Lake County uniform.
The 20-year-old right-hander, selected by the Indians in the first round of the 2019 draft, gave up one run on a hit in 5 2/3 innings. He finished with 10 strikeouts, walked on and fired 59 strokes on 76 shots.
Making his ninth start for the captains and 19th overall this season, Espino struck out the top 12 batters he faced with eight strikeouts.
The Dragons finally dented Espino’s armor early in the fifth inning. With one out, Allan Cerda scored a home run in the first row of the stands beyond the left field wall.
Dayton starter Carson Spiers was also impressive, limiting the captains to one point on two hits in five innings.
The captains scored Spiers’ goal in the bottom of the fifth inning on a walk with a Mike Amditis out and a double from the RBI from Julian Escobedo.
Cerda competed in the upcoming Dayton rally, cutting a starting single against Lake County reliever Kevin Kelly early in the eighth inning. He advanced to third on a double from Juan Martinez and scored on a sacrificial ball from Eric Yang.
Ivan Johnson’s two-run homerun at the start of the ninth, also against Kelly, was behind Dayton’s other points. Kelly (4-5, 4.58 ERA) struggled with loss.
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