Toledo Mud Hens 9, Columbus Clippers 4 (box)
Starter Ricardo Pinto had a shaky night, giving up four runs in six innings of work, but it didn’t matter much. A six run fourth inning propelled the Hens to a comfortable victory, as they added on a pair of runs late for insurance.
The lineup struggled with veteran reliever Brad Peacock the first time through, but they immediately jumped on Peacock’s replacement, Kyle Nelson. Aderlin Rodriguez walked to lead off the frame and went to third on a Christin Stewart single. Yariel Gonzalez then walked to load the bases, and JaCoby Jones followed with a walk as well, forcing home the first run of the inning. Zack Short singled in a run, and Jon Rosoff then singled in two, though he was cut down trying to take second. Jacob Robson reached on an error, and Renato Nuñez landed the big blow, a two run double to left, though Nuñez was also cut down trying to take an extra base on the play.
Angel De Jesus took over from Pinto, throwing two scoreless innings. Nuñez cracked a two-run shot in the top of the ninth to open the lead to five runs, and Will Vest closed it out, though he did allow a double and a walk in the process.
Nuñez: 2-5, R, 4 RBI, HR, 2B, SO
Short: 3-4, R, 2 RBI
Pinto: 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Drew Hutchison (8-3, 3.70 ERA) gets the call against RHP J.C. Mejia (0-1, 6.94 ERA) in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. EDT.
Altoona Curve 11, Erie SeaWolves 7 (box)
Starter AJ Ladwig was rocked for six runs in this one, and the SeaWolves bullpen didn’t do much better. Erie scored first, with Riley Greene leading off with a single and eventually scoring on a Kerry Carpenter sacrifice fly, but they were blanked for the next six innings while Altoona built a 9-1 lead. Josh Lester cracked a two-run homer in the seventh, and after two more singles, Riley Greene doubled in Brady Policelli to make it 11-4. Things went much the same in the bottom of the ninth as Erie hoped for a miracle. Lester mashed a second two-run shot, both with John Valente aboard, and Riley Greene later doubled home Danny Woodrow. That was as close as they’d get, unfortunately.
Lester: 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, SO
Greene: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, BB, SO
Valente: 2-4, 2 R
Coming Up Next: LHP Joey Wentz (0-4, 4.50 ERA) takes on RHP Travis MacGregor (3-4, 5.09 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.
West Michigan Whitecaps 11, Lake County Captains 5 (box)
This one was a nail-biter until the ‘Caps blew the Captains away late, scoring eight runs in the final two frames. Brendan White got the start, and he was rudely greeted with three runs in the bottom of the first. However, he did settle in from there, pitching into the sixth inning where he was lifted after allowing a final run.
The Whitecaps got on the board via Ulrich Bojarski’s solo shot in the third inning. Gage Workman plated two more with an RBI ground-rule double in the fourth to score Andrew Navigato and Eric de la Rosa, and tie the game. After Lake County took the lead in the sixth, the ‘Caps needed a big comeback and they got it in the top of the eighth.
Navigato led off with a double, and Daniel Cabrera reached on catcher’s interference, prompting an argument that saw Captains skipper Greg DiCenzo get himself tossed. De La Rosa followed with a double to score Navigato. Rey Rivera struck out, and Workman got an intentional pass to first. Bojarski struck out, but Jose King, who probably weighs 150 pounds, cracked a grand slam to left field to seize control of the game. De La Rosa collected an RBI single in the top of the ninth, and Rivera brought him home with a two-run shot that finished the Captains off.
King: 2-3, R, 4 RBI, HR, BB, SO, CS
De La Rosa: 2-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B, SB
Navigato: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, BB
Coming Up Next: LHP Adam Wolf (3-3, 3.83 ERA) takes on RHP Tanner Burns (2-4, 3.63 ERA) at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 12, Palm Beach Cardinals 3 (box)
Cardinals pitching was not on point in this one, issuing 11 walks to Lakeland. The Flying Tigers also racked up 9 hits and rolled to victory. Eliezer Alfonzo and Ben Malgeri collected RBI hits in the first, while Alfonzo later was walked in from third. Malgeri scored on a Kingston Liniak single.
Starter Joseph Salazar leaked half the lead away in the bottom of the first, and allowed another run in the third as the Cardinals closed to within a run. Ultimately it didn’t matter, as Lakeland went on to score seven runs in the top of the sixth. Walks, as well as a hit by pitch, were much of the problem for Palm Beach. Alfonzo collected a two-run double, and Jake Holton a two-run single, with Holton scoring on a Malgeri double. Malgeri advanced to third on one wild pitch, and then scored the final run of the frame on yet another wild pitch.
It was a Low-A level sort of blowout. The Flying Tigers only had a couple extra base hits, but a win is a win.
Alfonzo: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB
Holton: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Wilmer Flores (1-1, 7.20 ERA) gets the call in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EDT.