Great Lakes opens Midwest League playoffs Tuesday

The Great Lakes Loons, High-A affiliate of the Dodgers, will take part in the Midwest League playoffs starting Tuesday night on the road against the Lake County Captains (Guardians).

A rainout finished the regular season Sunday for the Loons, leaving them with an overall record of 76-55 (.580), good for the second-best record in the Midwest League, trailing only Lake County, their opponent in the first round. The Loons’ +84 run differential was also second in the league, behind only Cedar Rapids (Twins) at +143.

Leading the charge on offense for the Loons is top prospect Diego Cartaya. The catcher has hit 22 homers and driven in 72 runs overall this season, with 13 homers coming in 62 games for Great Lakes. Several others who hit double-digit homers this season for the Loons will be active, including Jose Ramos (19), Imanol Vargas (18), Eddys Leonard (15) and Jorbit Vivas (10).

Since Great Lakes won the first half, they get the advantage of playing Game 2 and 3 (if necessary) in their home ballpark for the best-of-three format. The two clubs faced off 24 times during the regular season, with Lake County taking the advantage overall with 13 wins.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and South Bend Cubs are on the other side of the bracket and the winner will play the team advancing from Loon-Captains for the championship.

Pitching matchups

Game 1: Great Lakes will start Carlos Duran against Will Dion.

Game 2: Adolfo Ramirez will get the ball against Tommy Mace.

Game 3: Kendall Williams starts against Aaron Davenport.

Tuesday schedule

• 4:00 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Carlos Duran) at Lake County (Will Dion)
• 4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Frasso) vs. Springfield (TBD)
• 5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at Albuquerque (TBD)