Loons blank Dragons

One night after a 16-run loss to Dayton, the Great Lakes Loons managed to hold the Dragons scoreless and slug three homers to pick up a 5-0 Independence Day victory.

Tommy Giles opened the scoring for the Loons in the game’s second at bat with a solo home run to right-center field. The shot came off Cincinnati Red’s left-handed relief specialist Mike Stanton, who started the game for the Dragons as part of a rehabilitation assignment.

Then in the second inning, after singles by James Peterson and Preston Mattingly, Juan Apodaca slugged his fifth home run of the season to give
the Loons a 4-0 advantage.

Giles added to the lead in the eighth with a second solo home run, this one to the opposite field, to give the Loons a five-run cushion. Giles becomes the first player in Loons history to record a multi-homer game.

The game lasted nearly three hours plus a rain delay in the eighth that lasted over an hour.

Clayton Kershaw started for the Loons and went four innings, a start shortened by a 50 pitch limit necessitated by his upcoming appearance Sunday in the MLB Futures Game. Thomas Melgarejo (3-5) pitched three innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory.

Stanton, recovering from a left hamstring injury, pitched just the first inning, allowing a run on Giles’ homer. He struck out two in the frame.

A box score of Wednesday’s game is available at milb.com.