Fort Wayne TinCaps third baseman Hudson Potts homered twice and drove in seven runs against the Great Lakes Loons on Wednesday. (Photo by Jeff Nycz/Mid-South Images)

Fort Wayne TinCaps third baseman Hudson Potts homered twice and drove in seven runs Wednesday to lead his team to a 7-5 win over the Great Lakes Loons.

Potts hit a three-run homer in the 1st inning and a grand slam in the 2nd inning. He is now batting .250 with 19 HR and 63 RBI in 121 games with the TinCaps this season. Earlier this month he was named the Midwest League’s offensive player of the week for the period of Aug. 14-20.

Fort Wayne’s win, combined with South Bend’s loss to West Michigan, reduced the TinCaps’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth to one. The Whitecaps beat the Cubs 2-0 for their 26th shutout of the season, extending their Midwest League record.

The Hot Rods also lost Wednesday, dropping their 10th game in a row. Bowling Green currently leads the Eastern Division wild-card race, trailing Fort Wayne by four games and leading South Bend by one game in the division standings, with five games left in the season.

Chiefs close to clinching

In the Western Division, the Peoria Chiefs are close to clinching the second-half wild-card berth after a 4-3, walk-off win against the second-half Western Division winner Quad Cities River Bandits reduced their magic number to one.

The Chiefs scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game, with first baseman Danny Hudzina hitting a bases-loaded single to drive in the winning tally.

The Beloit Snappers, Clinton LumberKings and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers remain in the wild-card race, but they have to win out to stay alive. Beloit and Wisconsin play each other Thursday night, which means one of them will be eliminated from playoff contention. A Chiefs win against the River Bandits on Thursday would give Peoria the playoff berth and eliminate all three of their contenders.