Hernandez's two homers help Loons top Olive Burgers

LANSING, Mich. – Jose Hernandez homered twice and the Great Lakes Loons (5-1, 41-29) came from behind for a 9-4 victory over the Lansing Olive Burgers (0-7, 29-42) in front of a Friday night crowd of 5,366 at JacksonⓇField™.

Lansing has now lost 10 games in a row, tying a franchise record.

The Olive Burgers showcased an early spark on offense, scoring two runs in the first with an RBI single from C.J. Pittaro and a sacrifice fly from Ali Camarillo for their first lead of the series, 2-1.

In the third, the pair struck again, this time with a run-scoring ground out from Pittaro and an RBI single from Camarillo, to take a 4-3 lead.

“We were more aggressive with our pitches,” manager Javier Godard said. “We're hitting more fastballs today, and it kinda paid off early in the game, and we kinda lost our way a little bit late.”

But starter Zane Taylor was hit by a sharp ground ball from Samuel Muñoz in the top of the second and exited the game after three innings due to precautionary reasons, allowing three runs: an Emil Morales RBI single in the first, and a Hernandez solo home run coupled with a Morales sacrifice fly in the third. Taylor finished with three hits allowed, one walk and one strikeout.

“His leg was a little different, so we didn't wanna push him,” Godard said. “I'd rather take him out than just forcing him and then it could be a lot worse.”

Ryan Brown came in for relief, and the Loons capitalized for the deciding runs in the fifth. Muñoz led off the inning with a walk, and Hernandez hit his second home run of the game to make it 5-4.

A Logan Wagner RBI double and an Eduardo Guerrero RBI single tacked on two more before Riley Huge was called upon to end the frame. Brown finished 1 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs, three hits and two walks.

Huge pitched two scoreless innings before handing the mound to Darlin Pinales. Pinales also kept the Loons off the board, and did so with three strikeouts in 1 ⅓ innings.

“He was good,” Godard said. “His slider was good, and he threw a few good sinkers there that surprises some hitters.”

The Olive Burgers attempted a rally in the seventh against reliever Matt Lanzendorfer; walks from Pittaro and Rodney Green Jr. and a single from Camarillo single loaded the bases with two outs, forcing the Loons to switch to reliever Nicolas Cruz. Cruz drew a fly out from Jared Sprague-Lott to end the inning.

Luis Carrasco pitched the ninth, allowing a two-run homer to Logan Wagner to close out the scoring.

Hernandez helped lead the Great Lakes offense, going 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored. In two games this week, the infielder is 4-for-7 with four RBIs, one walk and three runs scored.

“Both of the homers were fastballs, so they were left on the heart of the plate, and he was hunting them,” Godard said. “And then at the end, we kinda shown what we could do. He got a broken bat with Carrasco with a slider down and away, so I think we just gotta pitch a list for him.”

Quintero and Wagner contributed a combined 4-for-8 performance at the plate on Friday, collecting two doubles, six runs, three RBIs and two walks.

“Most of their hitters, we gotta live on the zone so we can have some success, so we can play the sliders and curveballs off of that fastball down,” Godard said.

From the Olive Burgers’ dugout, Pittaro collected two RBIs along with one hit and a walk. Camarillo went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, Pineda finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored, and Justin Riemer reached base four times from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two walks and two runs scored and made a highlight throw across his body to retire Jose Meza on a groundout in the top of the eighth.

“He's a good leadoff guy,” Godard said. “He sees his pitches, and he's not afraid to swing, and he's had a pretty good pitch recognition. He knows the strike zone a little bit better than most guys, so I think he's our leadoff guy as of now.”

“It's someplace I'm definitely comfortable,” Riemer said about leading off. “I'll hit wherever the team needs me to hit, but yeah, I'd say I'm definitely comfortable there.”

Mitch Myers makes his second start for Lansing this season on Saturday, taking on Great Lakes right-hander Brooks Auger. Gates open at 5:30 for Marvel Super Hero Night, with fans receiving a Spider-Man Funko Pop, and LMCU fireworks are planned for after the game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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