Note: Following is the first installment of a new weekly roundup of Great Lakes Loons action called "Loons Lowdown," compiled by Daily News staff writer Austin Chastain. Loons Lowdown will appear each Tuesday in the Daily News for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Hitting the baseball hard is proving to be a driving force of success for the Great Lakes Loons during the first half of the 2021 season in the High-A Central League.
The Loons (34-28) lead the league with 79 long balls -- sneaking past Cedar Rapids, which has 78. The Kernels play in the West Division whereas the Loons play in the East. After CR, the next four teams on the total home run leaderboard are from the West. Lake County, which has hit 48 home runs this season, is second in the East and seventh in the league.
Great Lakes hit a league-high seven home runs in its recent six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts at Dow Diamond. The Lugnuts escaped Chemical City with a 4-2 series win, their first of the season.
GL took the first game with a decisive 8-2 win. Wednesday's game was postponed due to unplayable conditions and was played as a doubleheader on Friday. Before the doubleheader, the Lugnuts put up five runs in the top of the 12th inning to tie the series with an 8-3 win.
Lansing turned around and swept the doubleheader with a pair of 2-1 victories on Friday before clinching the series with a 4-2 win on Saturday in front of a season-high Dow Diamond crowd of 4,331. The Loons responded on Sunday with a 4-2 win behind back-to-back first-inning home runs from centerfielder James Outman and first-baseman Justin Yurchak.
Shortstop Leonel Valera leads the team with 43 RBIs and 13 home runs. Valera is also second on the team in extra-base hits with 15 (10 doubles and five triples). Outman leads with 16 total (10 doubles and six triples).
Yurchak leads the team with a .354 batting average and carries an .882 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) -- also tops on the team. Leftfielder Ryan Ward has knocked around 59 hits and is second on the club with a .292 batting average and an .873 OPS.
Newcomer Brandon Lewis, taking over for the recently-departed Miguel Vargas to Double-A Tulsa, has made a name for himself with Great Lakes in a hurry.
With just 11 games under his belt at the High-A level, Lewis has scored five times, knocked around 11 hits in 45 at-bats, driven in 12 men, and homered four times -- including a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning of Thursday's 12-inning thriller.
Lewis has built up a .244 batting average with the Loons and an .832 OPS.
As a team, the Loons are 18-for-66 with men in scoring position, which is second behind Quad Cities for the lead in the High-A Central. GL has driven in a total of 49 men from scoring position but have struck out a league-high 25 times in the same situation.
Loons' pitching has been strong throughout the first half of the season but has room for improvement heading into the second half.
Franklin De La Paz has been lights out coming out of the bullpen. In three appearances, he has yet to allow a hit and has struck out six men, walking two in just 4 1/3 innings of work. He has allowed a run, but it was unearned.
Jesus Vargas has been one of the more reliable facets of the Loons' pitching staff. In 12 games (four starts), Vargas has built up a 5-2 record and a 2.66 ERA. Vargas has allowed 23 runs (15 earned) on 39 hits, walked seven and allowed seven home runs, but he has struck out 35 men in 50 2/3 innings of work.
Los Angeles Dodgers' 2020 first-rounder pitcher Bobby Miller has found his footing with the Loons and has worked through some struggles on the mound. Miller has been constantly working on his routine and delivery in 11 games this season (nine starts). In 36 1/3 innings of work, Miller has allowed 15 runs (10 earned) on 25 hits. He's allowed just one home run, walked 10, and struck out 40 during the first half of the season.
Landon Knack, the Loons' starter in Sunday's win over the Lugnuts, has been a pleasant surprise for Great Lakes in seven games (three starts). Sitting at 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA, Knack has racked up 31 punchouts, walked five, and allowed one long ball.
The Loons face a 12-game road trip, starting in Dayton and wrapping up at Lake County, to open the second half of the season. After the road marathon, the Loons will have 12 consecutive games at home for the first time this season -- starting with West Michigan from July 27-Aug 1 and Fort Wayne Aug. 3-8.
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July 13, 2021 at 04:57AM
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Loons Lowdown: First half complete - Midland Daily News
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