Toledo Mud Hens 6, Indianapolis Indians 0 (box)
Matthew Boyd and the Hens bullpen shut Indianapolis down almost totally, throwing a three-hit shutout in Toledo on Wednesday night. Meanwhile the now fully weaponized Hens’ lineup had little trouble scoring runs, and again it was Ryan Kreidler making a big impression. The recently promoted shortstop singled, doubled, and then launched a solo shot in the eighth, his second in as many games. Spencer Torkelson was in on the action as well, drilling a triple into the right field corner for his first Triple-A hit. He also singled and scored three times. Christin Stewart crushed his 20th homer of the year, a two-run shot, in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Boyd spun three innings, striking out four with no walks. That’s a pretty good sign that he’s perhaps one more rehab appearance away from a return to Detroit. Alex Lange, Will Vest, Angel De Jesus, and Jason Foley finished the game out of the bullpen with only a double and two walks allowed in six innings of work.
Kreidler: 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Torkelson: 2-4, 3 R, 3B
Greene: 1-4, SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Logan Shore (3-2, 3.74 ERA) gets the ball on Thursday night. He’ll take on Indy’s RHP Miguel Yajure (1-1, 3.71 ERA).
Ryan Kreidler goes deep for the 2nd night in a row, this one to right-center. It’s his 17th homer of the season, and he’s 3-for-4 tonight with a double, a homer, and 3RBI. pic.twitter.com/vSY1ry9vnG
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) August 19, 2021
Richmond Flying Squirrels 8, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)
Starter Elvin Rodriguez got lit the heck up on Wednesday night, and the offense missed a few opportunities to get back into it. Rodriguez cruised for two innings, but then quickly gave up a two-run shot in the third. He allowed another homer, a solo shot, in the fourth before getting bludgeoned for five runs and knocked out of the game in the fifth with seven runs charged. The offense briefly tied the game at two apiece in the top of the fourth when Dane Myers homered to left with Andre Lipcius aboard. Beyond that the offense couldn’t get much going. Eric De La Rosa and Lipcius each doubled and had two hits to pace the offense.
Lipcius: 2-4, R, 2B
De La Rosa: 2-4, 2 SO
Myers: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. EDT on Thursday night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 18, Fort Wayne TinCaps 6 (box)
Well the Whitecaps just went wild in this one, racking up 17 hits and nine walks to crush the TinCaps on Wednesday. Poor Jimmy Kerr was the only hitter in the starting lineup who didn’t collect a hit. He walked three times instead. Daniel Cabrera only had one hit, but it was a two-run homer in the third inning, sparking a six run frame for the Whitecaps as they batted around. Rey Rivera had four singles. Austin Murr had three. Gage Workman had two singles and two walks. Parker Meadows doubled, singled, and walked. Jake Holton doubled twice. You get the picture.
Austin Bergner threw six innings of one run ball, with six punchouts to earn the win. Sandel De La Cruz blew up in the seventh and allowed five of Fort Wayne’s six runs.
Coming Up Next: RHP Garrett Hill (3-0, 2.49 ERA) takes on lefty Danny Denz (0-1, 1.46 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. EDT as the home series continues.
Jupiter Hammerheads 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4 (box)
The Flying Tigers got another dynamite start from Wilmer Flores, but a late comeback attempt fell just short. Flores allowed just an unearned run in six innings of work. He gave up three hits and a walk, and punched out nine. The big right-hander struck out nine back on August 5th as well, and has a 28.4 percent strikeout rate with Lakeland through five starts.
Lakeland took the lead in the first when Colt Keith tripled and scored on Eliezer Alfonzo’s RBI single. After Jupiter tied it up in the fourth, Ben Malgeri singled with two outs in the top of the fifth. He then stole second and scored on a Keith single.
Unfortunately, Carson King blew up in the seventh, allowing four runs to take the loss. The Flying Tigers scored twice in the ninth to make it close.
Keith: 2-4, R, RBI, 3B, SO
Malgeri: 2-5, R, SO, SB
Flores: 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, BB, 9 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Nick Davila (4-5, 3.52 ERA) starts for Lakeland on Thursday night, while LHP Luis Palacios (3-4, 4.86 ERA) goes for Jupiter.