Lansing, MI – Despite Caden Ferraro’s first professional home run, the Lugnuts edged the Chiefs 6-5 in the series opener Tuesday night at Jackson Field.
With the loss, the Chiefs dropped their fourth straight game and fell 6.5 games behind first-place Beloit in the Midwest League West.
Breyson Guedez crushed a solo homer in the third inning to right and out of the ballpark to give Lansing a 1-0 lead.
Lugnuts starting pitcher Tucker Novotny retired 15 of the first 19 batters he faced.
Peoria starter Jack Martinez bounced back from a seven-walk outing, allowing just one run on two hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out one.
The Chiefs made their move in the sixth, tying the game on Jalin Flores’ RBI single that scored Brayden Smith after his leadoff double.
Novotny finished after 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out eight.
Luis Carrasco entered in relief and allowed a single before Tristan Bissetta doubled home Flores to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.
Nelfy Ynfante came on in relief in the sixth inning and struck out the first two batters before Jake Reinisch hit a triple to the center-field warning track after Yordalin Peña lost the ball in the lights. Dylan Fien followed with a line drive into the left-field corner, where Ferraro made a sliding attempt but couldn’t come up with it, resulting in an RBI triple that tied the game at two.
The Chiefs were set down in order in the seventh, including Brayden Smith being called out on strikes to end the frame. Smith argued balls and strikes and became the first Chiefs player or coach to be ejected this season.
In the bottom of the seventh, Guedez launched his second homer of the game, a three-run shot to right that gave Lansing a 5-2 advantage.
Ferraro hit his first professional home run in the eighth inning, a two-run shot to right that cut the deficit to 5-4.
The Lugnuts loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth on a single and two walks before Christian Worley hit Logan Sauve with a pitch, extending Lansing’s lead to 6-4.
In the ninth, Anyelo Encarnación recorded an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-5, but the tying run was stranded as Sammy Hernandez struck out to end the game.
The Chiefs and the Lugnuts square off again Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. CT. Fans can listen to the hometown call here.
