Indianapolis Indians 7, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)
Garrett Hill’s Triple-A debut went ok, but the Hens offense was quiet and the bullpen ultimately melted down in the seventh as Indy won going away.
Hill tossed five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, and struck out five. He actually no-it Indy through four innings, though he did issue four walks on the day. The wheels came off a bit in the fifth after he allowed a solo shot to start the inning. Hill bounced back getting a fly ball and then a strikeout, but issued a walk to Hoy Park prior to facing ONeill Cruz, one of the top prospect in baseball. Cruz singled, and Travis Swaggerty followed with another single that was misplayed by Davis, allowing both Park and Cruz to score. Hill did punch out the final hitter of the inning to end his Hens debut respectably.
New outfielder Brendon Davis, acquired off of waivers from the Angels last week, had an RBI double to score Dane Myers in the sixth for the only Hens run on the night. Nolan Blackwood surrendered four runs in the seventh to put this one out of reach. The Indians took the series four games to two.
The Hens lost 5-2 on Friday as Chase Anderson surrendered four runs in his five innings of work, with five strikeouts but two home runs allowed. Dane Myers had two hits including a double to lead the offense on what was otherwise another quiet night with only six hits and two walks.
On Saturday, the Kody Clemens show took center stage as the Hens won 12-2. Clemens had three hits, including a pair of triples as the Hens scored six runs in the sixth, and four in the seventh to blow Indianapolis out. Jacob Robson, Josh Lester, and Jack Lopez each had two hits games in that one.
The Hens welcome in the Nashville Sounds, the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate on Tuesday night for six.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Erie SeaWolves 3 (F/11)(box)
A tight ballgame fell apart for the SeaWolves in extra innings on Sunday. The Fisher Cats blew the game open with four runs in the top of the 11th to win it. Still the SeaWolves took the series four games to two.
Adam Wolf gave Erie a decent start, striking out eight in four innings of work, allowing two earned runs in the third inning to give the Fisher Cats an early lead. Andre Lipcius got the SeaWolves on the board in the fourth as he led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a Parker Meadows fly out, and scored on a wild pitch from New Hampshire’s Trent Palmer. The Fisher Cats’ pen gave away the lead in the sixth, hitting Kerry Carpenter and walking Lipcius, before another wild pitch advanced them both. Quincy Nieporte lifted a fly ball that allowed Carpenter to score the tying run at that point.
Things stayed knotted at two apiece until both teams scored a run in the 10th. Kerry Carpenter doubled home the extra innings runner on second to re-tie the game after Gerson Moreno surrendered the runner in the top of the frame. Apparently, the SeaWolves were fresh out of pitchers after using seven guys in this one, as catcher Jon Rosoff came on in the top of the 11th and predictably allowed a storm of runs to end this one.
Erie did win 8-7 on Friday night, getting an electric performance from RHP Reese Olson (#7, BYB) who struck out 11 in 4 2⁄3 innings allowing two runs, one earned. Kerry Carpenter continued to absolutely rake with his 10th and 11th home runs of the year in this one. Nieporte and Lipcius also homered in the winning effort as the SeaWolves stayed off disaster in the top of the ninth after the Fisher Cats scored three to make this close.
Erie won 8-5 on Saturday, behind Parker Meadows first SeaWolves home run and a two run shot from Nieporte in the 8th inning. Lipcius had three hits in the game and now holds an .889 OPS after Sunday’s contest. Carpenter leads the team easily with a 1.025 OPS after making some swing changes to add a little more loft in the offseason, per an interview with SeaWolves’ manager Gabe Alvarez from Chris Brown of Tigers Minor League Report and Motor City Bengals.
The SeaWolves now head out to take on the Bowie Baysox starting Tuesday evening.
We have been getting a lot of questions about outfielder Kerry Carpenter. Here’s @erie_seawolves manager Gabe Alvarez talking about the off-season change that Carpenter did on his swing. An article to come shortly. pic.twitter.com/7eERHoZLhA
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) May 21, 2022
West Michigan Whitecaps 8, Fort Wayne TinCaps 0 (box)
The ‘Caps got strong work from the pitching staff, and despite just one extra base hit and one walk, managed to rack up eight runs on 11 hits. A coupe errors on Fort Wayne’s shortstop in particular helped the cause.
Ty Madden got the start and spun five scoreless innings on three hits and a walk, with three strikeouts. Jack O’Loughlin, Ted Stuka, and Angel Reyes took it the rest of the way, no-hitter Fort Wayne over the final four frames.
Wenceel Perez singled home Corey Joyce in the top of the first to open the scoring. The ‘Caps were then quiet until the fourth when Perez walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a poor throw from TinCaps’ catcher Adam Kerner. Ben Malgieri singled home Perez and then stole second base, eventually scoring on a Cooper Johnson single.
In the fifth, Colt Keith walked with two outs and Jake Holton mashed his seventh homer of the season, and third in as many games, to make it 5-0 Whitecaps. They’d add a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to win going away.
Corey Joyce, Wenceel Perez, and Jose King had two hit games, the latter two also drawing a walk apiece, while Keith was again on base all game long with a single and a pair of walks to help pace the offensive attack.
On Saturday, the ‘Caps won with a Jake Holton solo shot the only run scored on the day. Dylan Smith gave them five shutout inning with four strikeouts to earn the victory.
On Friday, night the TinCaps bludgeoned starter Carlos Guzman with five runs in the second inning, ultimately scoring eight in the frame, to win easily. Holton had given the Whitecaps a two-run shot in the first to open the scoring, while Wenceel Perez hit his fourth on the year, a solo shot. Keith also tripled and had a pair of hits in that one.
The Whitecaps took the four-game set 4-2, and will welcome in the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday evening.
Jupiter Hammerheads 13, Lakeland Flying Tigers 7 (box)
After the two clubs completed Saturday’s rain delayed contest, the Hammerheads blew the Flygers out in the regularly scheduled game, reduced, mercifully, to seven innings. Carlos Mendoza continued to produce, collecting two doubles, two walks, and scoring three times. Izaac Pacheco and Roberto Campos each had a single, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored in the losing effort.
Earlier, the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, due to a postponement on Friday night—welcome to Florida—ended in a 3-0 loss. The offense only had three hits, including singles from Pacheco and Manuel Sequera, so there wasn’t much to report.
Friday night’s game ended in a 3-2 victory for Lakeland in seven innings on Saturday. Sequera hit his fourth home run, while Campos hit his second of the season in the winning effort. Jackson Jobe stretched out to four innings, allowing a two run shot while striking out five.
In the end, Lakeland took the home series four games to two, and now head to Tampa for four with the Tarpons, including a doubleheader on Wednesday, before switching to Lakeland for three more from Friday through Sunday.