LANSING, Mich. – In a game that would’ve made Tom Emanski cringe, the TinCaps lost to the Lansing Lugnuts, 7-4, on Saturday night at Cooley Law School Stadium in the opener of a four-game series.

The game featured seven errors, three balls that fielders apparently never saw in the air that resulted in hits, a couple passed balls, and a general poor quality of play.

The TinCaps, who won a 15-inning game at South Bend on Friday night, played like a team that had checked into their hotel on Saturday morning at approximately 3:40 a.m., which was what happened. Fort Wayne had won eight of 10 prior to this one.

After the TinCaps (18-24, 54-58) had a runner thrown out at the plate in the top of the first inning, the Lugnuts (20-22, 56-56) scored three times against Angel Mejia (L, 1-3). Lansing’s first five batters reached base, while Fort Wayne committed a pair of errors, had a passed ball, and allowed a stolen base.

The nightmarish start for the visitors started to shift in the second as the TinCaps got two runs back. Designated hitter Jose Carlos Ureña plated a run with an RBI double and Jhonatan Peña added a sac fly that made it 3-2.

That’s as close as Fort Wayne would get, though. The Lugnuts scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth. While the TinCaps cut the deficit to two with a pair in the seventh, Connor Panas hit a solo homer for the home team in the bottom of the seventh that expanded Lansing’s lead to 7-4.

Tayler Saucedo (W, 7-9) held Fort Wayne to one earned run (and one unearned) in three innings. Jackson Lowery (S, 3) closed it out with a perfect eighth and ninth, strikingn out five.

Next game is Sunday, a 2:05 p.m. start in Lansing.