RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesFORT WAYNE, Ind. – It was a record-breaking slugfest for Cristian Santana and the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Santana launched three home runs in three consecutive plate appearances, helping Whitecaps blast a franchise-record seven home runs as part of an 11-1 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Parkview Field.
Santana led the historic night with homers in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings, while Bryce Rainer, Jackson Strong, Juan Hernandez and Luke Shliger all launched homers to give the Whitecaps seven home runs for the first time in team history.
The previous record was six, last accomplished on Aug. 24 of last season when the Whitecaps beat the Lansing Lugnuts at LMCU Ballpark by a score of 16-0.
More: Detroit Tigers starter Jackson Jobe sharp in rehab start with West Michigan Whitecaps
It wasn't just a power surge for West Michigan. The pitching was stellar, too.
Detroit Tigers Top-10 Prospect Ben Jacobs (3-2) kept Fort Wayne hitters off-balance all night, holding the TinCaps to just one run in a career-high 5 2/3 innings while striking out five in the victory.
The Whitecaps improve to 21-17 in the second half and 45-57 overall, while the TinCaps drop to 18-18 in the second half and 45-57 overall.
A closer look at the home runs
After hitting three home runs in Tuesday’s contest, the ‘Caps picked up where they left off with three longballs – but this time, in the first two frames on Wednesday. Rainer, a Detroit Tigers Top-5 Prospect, sent a 108mph blast to dead center field and into the upper deck above the batter's eye for a solo home run. There was no official recorded distance, but two weeks prior, Cleveland Guardians prospect Jace LaViolette hit a home run to the same area that was estimated at 474 feet.
After Rainer’s blast gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead, Strong followed two batters later with a solo shot of his own – as both homers were the tenth of the season for each player and gave West Michigan a 2-0 lead. In the second, Hernandez launched his second home run of the season with a three-run shot that extended the ‘Caps advantage to 5-0.
After a Santana sacrifice fly in the third, he added his ninth home run of the year in the fifth with a two-run shot to push West Michigan’s lead to 8-1. The seventh inning saw the next two balls leave the yard when Shliger and Santana homered.
Then again in the ninth, Santana blasted his third home run of the evening, giving him three homers in three straight at-bats. The last Whitecaps player to homer three times in a single contest was Josue Briceño on May 29 of last season at Dayton.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSport s.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How the West Michigan Whitecaps slugged their way into the record books with a huge win
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.