Hartson Stumbles in 5th as Kernels hand Captains 7th straight loss

Since his full-time move into the starting rotation, Captains pitcher Brock Harston had posted a 1.56 ERA over four starts, despite not winning any of those starts. Hartson had been one of the lone bright spots since the Captains’ all-star studded roster had been picked apart by high-A affiliate Lynchburg.

Through the first four innings of Wednesday night’s start against Cedar Rapids, Hartson continued to look like a revelation for the Captains’ starting rotation.He bounced back from a rough first inning (two hits, one run allowed) nicely by posting three straight scoreless innings. His offense gave him two runs and the lead.

But, Hartson’s outing quickly unraveled in the fifth inning.

After an RBI single from Cedar Rapids shortstop Jermaine Palacios, Cedar Rapids first baseman Jaylin Davis hit a two out grand slam. The energy had been sucked out of Classic Park by one swing of Davis’ bat.

The Captains posted a frisky two-run seventh inning, but were not able to muster the offense required to overcome their disastrous fifth.

Not even the excitement derived from Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley’s 2-3 rehab performance was enough to save Lake County Wednesday night, as the Captains lost 8-4 to Cedar Rapids.

Lake County has lost seven straight games since Independence Day, tying them in the loss column with the Dayton Dragons for last place in the Eastern Division.

The call ups of catcher Francisco Mejia and shortstop Tyler Krieger (among others) to Lynchburg hurt Lake County more every day.