Cobb Cruises, McGonigle Shines in 13-2 Win
DAYTON, OH – One day after watching Josue Briceño enjoy one of the best nights by an offensive player in West Michigan Whitecaps history, fellow top Detroit Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle reached base five times by finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle while Tigers pitcher Alex Cobb
DAYTON, OH – One day after watching Josue Briceño enjoy one of the best nights by an offensive player in West Michigan Whitecaps history, fellow top Detroit Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle reached base five times by finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle while Tigers pitcher Alex Cobb looked sharp in a rehab assignment in a 13-2 win over the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,706 fans Friday at Day Air Ballpark.
Cobb, a National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants in 2023 and signed by the Tigers last December, tossed two scoreless innings in his 2025 professional debut, allowing one base hit and no runs without a walk and striking out three. The 37-year-old featured a fastball that reached 94mph. The victory extends the ‘Caps win streak to six straight games – one shy of their 2025 season-high. The Whitecaps lead over the Lansing Lugnuts and Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League Eastern Division standings increases to eight games with 17 games remaining in the first half.
The Whitecaps took control early when Seth Stephenson lofted a two-run single in the second inning to help the ‘Caps take a 2-0 lead. In the third, Peyton Graham launched a home run for the second straight day, a solo shot and his third of the year to extend the ‘Caps advantage to 3-0. The Dragons took single runs in the fourth and sixth innings on solo homers by Leo Balcazar and Carter Graham to cut the deficit to one at 3-2. The score remained the same until the seventh when Graham worked a bases-loaded walk to help West Michigan take a 4-2 lead. In the eighth, the ‘Caps pulled away once again. In what shows to be West Michigan’s best inning of the season, entering Friday’s contest having outscored their opponents 49-9 in the eighth frame, the ‘Caps broke things open with a two-run double by Kevin McGonigle before Izaac Pacheco drove home another insurance tally with an RBI-double to push the West Michigan advantage to 7-2. A Bennett Lee two-run single later in the frame pushed the lead to 9-2. In the ninth, a pair of two-run homers by McGonigle and Pacheco helped conclude the scoring in the contest and send the ‘Caps to their sixth straight win.
The Whitecaps improve to 33-15 while the Dragons fall to 17-31. West Michigan southpaw Andrew Sears (3-2) allowed just two runs in 5.1 innings out of the ‘Caps bullpen while setting a career-high with eight strikeouts in his third win of the season. The 22-year-old wraps up a dominant Month of May by going 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 29 strikeouts to just six walks. Dragons lefty Adam Serwinowski (0-4) takes his fourth loss by allowing three runs in three innings on the hill. Outfielder Max Clark reached base four times, including three walks in the victory, while Seth Stephenson finished 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and RBI for a ‘Caps team that has scored 27 runs over their past two games.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the penultimate game of this six-game series against the Dayton Dragons at Day Air Ballpark on Saturday at 7:05 pm. Pitchers Colin Fields and Jose Montero get the starts on the mound. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Catch all the action on the radio or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.