Toledo Mud Hens 2, Louisville Bats 1 (box)
Good pitching and a strong showing from Daz Cameron steered the Hens to a victory in the first of this six-game set in Louisville. Two pitches into the game, Cameron hammered a fastball from veteran lefty Josh Osich 415 feet over the centerfield wall. He racked up three hits in the game overall, and made good contact in four appearances before striking out in the ninth. Just a few games back from a wrist injury, Cameron is off to a nice start.
Overall, the Hens had nine hits and four walks total, but the offense just couldn’t capitalize on their chances. Derek Hill beat out an infield single in the second inning, and then lined another single to left in the sixth. Yariel Gonzalez also had a pair of singles.
Wily Peralta and Miguel Del Pozo carried the Hens through seven scoreless innings, with Drew Carlton taking over for a quick eighth. In the top of the ninth, they finally pushed across another run, and as it turned out, they needed it. SS Cole Peterson laced a double with one out, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Juan Centeno ground ball. Carlton allowed three singles in the bottom of the ninth, but rebounded after allowing a run to strike out Chris Okey and earn the save.
Coming Up Next: Logan Shore (1-1, 4.50 ERA) will take on the Bats’ Riley O’Brien (0-1, 2.76 ERA) Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Erie SeaWolves 5, Altoona Curve 1 (box)
The red-hot SeaWolves hold a 14-5 record after downing the Curve on Tuesday. Erie built an early lead and got strong relief work to smother any hope for Altoona.
Josh Lester got things started in the second inning with a leadoff triple. Dylan Rosa reached on an error that scored Lester, but was erased on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out with Kona Quiggle hitting. Erie kept applying the pressure anyway. Catcher Jon Rosoff singled and third baseman/former pitcher Dane Myers cracked a two-run shot to left center field to make it 3-0.
Riley Greene led off the third with a walk, followed by a Ryan Kreidler single and a walk to Kerry Carpenter. Lester struck out, but Rosa walked as well to score Greene. Quiggle sacrificed home Kreidler with a fly ball, and it was 5-0 Erie.
Starter Pedro Payano allowed a solo shot in the fourth, but was otherwise good through four innings. Cale Coshow earned the win with a pair of scoreless innings, before Moreno and DeCaster closed it out. Moreno struck out four in two perfect frames.
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start on Wednesday. The Curve sends RHP Travis MacGregor (0-1, 3.38 ERA) to the mound while Erie is still in TBD mode.
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Lake County Captains 3 (box)
Andre Lipcius had the biggest hit in this one, while the pitching staff did a nice job keeping the Captains in check. Chance Kirby got the start and went five innings with two runs allowed. The Whitecaps took advantage of their opportunities in the fourth, with Bryant Packard and Eliezer Alfonzo each sacrificing a run home. In the fifth, Lipcius sprayed a two-run double the opposite way to put his team on top 4-2. Sam Kessler allowed a run in the sixth, but Zack Hess and Ruben Garcia came through with strong relief appearances. Garcia struck out the side in the ninth to earn his third save.
Spencer Torkelson was not in the lineup after coming out Sunday with a left hamstring issue. It doesn’t seem too dire, but it makes all the sense in the world to get him right before returning him to the lineup.
Bryant Packard doubled and walked. Daniel Cabrera and Dillon Dingler each had a single.
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps reached the .500 mark with Tuesday’s victory. The two clubs meet again at 6:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 13, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)
The Mighty Mussels, formerly the Miracle, manhandled, mashed, minced and mauled the Flying Tigers on Tuesday. They only had six baserunners in the contest, so there wasn’t much going right. All that matters, is that LHP Joey Wentz made his season debut as his quest back from UCL surgery continues. We’re happy to see him.
Coming Up Next: LHP Adam Wolf (2-1, 3.21 ERA) gets the start for Lakeland against RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-2, 16.20 ERA) at 6:30 p.m. ET.