Iowa Cubs 3, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)
After some shaky outings, the Hens pitching staff put together a very strong eight inning effort but were undone in the ninth. Chase Anderson spun four innings of one hit ball with five strikeouts to no walks, and Ricardo Pinto followed suit with three scoreless and four punchouts to no walks. They had to be sharp, as the Hens clung to a one run lead.
The Hens opened the scoring in the fourth. Zack Short reached on an error and moved to second on a Willi Castro single. Short moved to third on a Kody Clemens groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Kreidler. Manufacturing at work.
Unfortunately, the Cubs pitching otherwise matched the Hens, holding them to just three hits on the night, though Ryan Kreidler and Jacob Robson each walked twice, so there was some traffic on the bases to navigate. But the timely hits didn’t arrive. However, their final knock on the night was a Jack Lopez solo shot in the top of the ninth that made it 2-0 and seemed likely to put the game away. However, Drew Carlton quickly gave up three hits and two runs, and with the game tied, and the bases loaded, the Cubs Trent Giambrone lifted one out to Jacob Robson in center and the sacrifice was enough to allow the runner on third to scamper home with the game winner.
LHP Joey Wentz will make his second start on the year on Thursday night at 7:38 p.m. ET. The Cubs have yet to announce a starter.
Erie SeaWolves 3, Somerset Patriots 0 (box)
It was a pretty good night for the SeaWolves’ pitching staff on Wednesday. Lefty Adam Wolf made his season debut with 3 2⁄3 scoreless frames, striking out five to three hits and three walks. Joe Navilhon took over to finished the fourth and then spun a solid fifth inning.
The offense was also quietly rolling along. Eric De La Rosa led off the game with a single, followed by a Gage Workman double. Dillon Dingler struck out, but Andre Lipcius walked to load the bases. A Daniel Cabrera ground out sent De La Rosa home with the first run of the game. In the third, it was De La Rosa making it happen again. He led off with another single, stole second, and advanced to third on the throw. This time it was a Gage Workman ground out that allowed him to score. 2-0 SeaWolves. Quincy Nieporte added a solo shot in the fourth, and the SeaWolves just needed the bullpen to hold on.
Gerson Moreno and Brendan White had no issues putting this one to bed. Moreno struck out six of seven hitters he faced—one reached on a Dingler dropped strike three—showing off his power curve to good effect despite struggling to dot the top of the zone with fastballs. White allowed a pair of singles in his two innings of work, but punched three tickets as well en route to his first save on the young season.
Workman and Lipcius each had a double in this one, Lipcius also drawing a walk, while Dingler went 0-for-4 with two punchouts.
On Thursday night, RHP Reese Olson will look to build on a strong first outing. He’ll take on RHP Sean Boyle at 6:35 p.m. ET as the road series continues.
West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Lansing Lugnuts (postponed)
This one was rained out. They’ll play two on Thursday starting a 5:35 p.m. ET. It’s a Dollar Day at LMCU Ballpark, so college students and military personnel get in for a buck with ID. Both games will be seven innings to keep the show moving.
Bradenton Marauders 4, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)
A pretty forgettable one in Bradenton. Catcher Daneurys De La Cruz had two singles, while Manuel Sequera, Izaac Pacheco, and Jose De La Cruz each drew a walk. But that was it for the Flying Tigers’ offense. Meanwhile Bradenton took advantage of a pair of throwing errors to pin a three-spot on starter Nicky Davila in the first. Davila allowed a solo shot in the fourth, and that was the end of the offense on the night from either side.
The two clubs meet up again at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night with the Flygers down in the series 0-2 thus far. No starters have been announced.