For eight innings, the TinCaps played the league’s hottest team to a standstill. Then the league’s hottest team showed why it’s exactly that.

Brian Cavazos-Galvez and Angelo Songco touched up TinCaps closer Miles Mikolas for singles in the home ninth, and a Mikolas wild pitch with two out brought home Cavazos-Galvez with the winning run as the Great Lakes Loons slipped away with a 2-1 victory at Midland, Mich. The Loons improved to 27-7 in the second half (71-33) and pushed their Eastern Division lead over second-place Fort Wayne (19-15, 55-49) to eight games.

Mikolas’ rough ninth ruined a solid outing for TinCaps starter Pedro Hernandez, who pitched six innings of one-run, four-hit ball in a stellar duel with Loons’ starter Josh Wall, who gave up a run and two hits in six innings. Wall and relievers Andrew Suiter and Luis Vasquez allowed five hits and struck out 10, with Vasquez getting the win.

Blake Smith’s leadoff homer in the top of the second, his 14th of the year, gave the Loons a 1-0 lead. The TinCaps tied it in their half of the fourth when back-to-back singles by Edinson Rincon and Everett Williams and Daniel Meeley’s sacrifice fly to left chased home Nate Freiman, who reached after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.

After that it was just Wall and Hernandez matching zeroes and strikeouts until the Loons brought it home.