Toledo Mud Hens 6, Indianapolis Indians 5 (box)
Wily Peralta’s start was a short one on Thursday, as Indy dropped five runs on him in the second inning to knock him from the contest. Ultimately though, good work from the bullpen gave the offense room to reel them in.
The Hens got on the board in the third courtesy of a two-run shot from Victor Reyes. Derek Hill singled home Aderlin Rodriguez in the fourth, and the Hens were again within two. They finally caught up in the sixth. A leadoff double from Daniel Pinero and an RBI single from SS Cole Peterson—who had three singles and also flashed some premium glovework in this one—plated the Hens a run. Derek Hill followed a batter later by reaching on a bunt, and it was Reyes again driving in Peterson and Hill with a double to produce the final margin.
Locke St. John, Miguel Del Pozo—who picked up the victory—and Jason Foley each spun two scoreless innings apiece, with Buck Farmer and Ian Krol holding the lead in the eighth and ninth.
Coming Up Next: Logan Shore (0-1, 13.50 ERA) gets the start for the Hens on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Erie SeaWolves 6, Akron RubberDucks 4 (box)
Starter A.J. Ladwig gave the SeaWolves an outstanding outing, and they took advantage, building a 6-0 lead and hanging on to bump their record to 6-3 on the year. Ladwig went five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight without a walk.
3B Drew Ward opened the scoring with a sac fly to score Ryan Kreidler, then drove in Kreidler again in the third with a two-run homer. Kerry Carpenter added a solo shot later in the third inning and it was 4-0 SeaWolves. John Valente added a solo shot in the fourth, and after Kreidler reached on a fielder’s choice, he stole second, moved to third after walks to Jacob Robson and Drew Ward, and rode home on a Josh Lester sacrifice fly. Max Green was hit hard in the sixth, allowing four runs, but Ethan DeCaster and Gerson Moreno were able to lock down the final 10 outs without further difficulty.
Riley Greene singled as he went 1-for-5, while Kreidler had a single, a walk, and scored three runs. Ulrich Bojarski had two hits, including a double, but didn’t factor in the scoring.
Coming Up Next: RHP Alex Royalty (0-0, 2.25 ERA) starts for Akron on Friday, while the SeaWolves are in TBD mode. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. ET.
Great Lakes Loons 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (box)
The Loons took advantage of a Corey Joyce error to plate three in the first, and they cruised to victory on Thursday. They added one off starter Chance Kirby in the third on a single, a walk, a double-steal, and a sacrifice fly. An Andre Lipcius solo shot, his second of the year, in the eighth inning avoided the shutout.
Lipcius is off to a .385 clip in the early going, and collected three more hits in this one. Parker Meadows singled, doubled, and stole a base out of the leadoff spot, while Spencer Torkelson walked twice and had a single on the night.
Coming Up Next: RHP Jose Martinez gets the start for the Loons, while the Whitecaps haven’t announced yet. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET out in Comstock Park.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Tampa Tarpons 2 (box)
The Flygers pitching staff racked up 13 strikeouts in a tight, low scoring matchup on Thursday. Ted Stuka and the ‘stache of ultimate destiny got the start, and Stuka punched out five in 3 1⁄3 innings. He also walked four, allowing two runs though just one earned.
The Flying Tigers mustered one of their best threats of the day in the very first inning. Kingston Liniak led off with a double, and Gage Workman singled to advance Liniak to third. Wenceel Perez grounded into a force out, scoring Liniak, but the threat ended there. After Tampa came back to take a 2-1 lead with runs in the third and fourth inning, Lakeland tied things up again. Jose De La Cruz led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk and after Tampa walked the bases loaded, a Liniak ground out brought De La Cruz home. They took the lead for good after Liniak led off the seventh with a walk, stole second, and ultimately came around to score on a wild pitch that was the margin in this one.
Michael Bienlien, Isrrael De La Cruz, and Bryce Tassin all threw solid innings of relief in the victory. The Flying Tigers stole eight bases in this one, collecting six hits and seven walks, but the Tarpons bullpen kept slipping out of danger. Other than Liniak, LF Eric De La Rosa stood out in this one, collecting two singles and a walk, with a pair of stolen bases.
Coming Up Next: RHP Joseph Salazar starts for Lakeland on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. ET, while RHP Jhonatan Munoz (0-0, 13.50 ERA) starts for Tampa.