Indianapolis Indians 4, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)
Beau Brieske returned to the mound in this one, but as you’d expect he wasn’t very sharp returning from the injured list after a minor bout with forearm soreness. Indy got to him for a couple of runs in the middle innings and went on to win and split the six-game series.
Toledo got on the board first in this one. Kerry Carpenter singled to lead off the second inning, and later scored on an single from catcher Chris Rabago. Meanwhile Brieske spun three scoreless innings with a couple strikeouts. Indianapolis struck back in the fourth when a single and a two-run homer seized the lead and ended Brieske’s outing at 45 pitches. The offense never got anything going toward a comeback, and the only appearance of note was Wily Peralta tossing a scoreless inning with a single, a walk, and a strikeout. With the Tigers expected to trade a bullpen piece or two, Peralta should be ready to plug a gap in the relief corps as soon as is necessary.
Lester: 2-4, SO
Rabago: 1-2, RBI, BB
Brieske (L. 0-2): 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: The Hens will head to Iowa to take on the Cubs for six games starting Tuesday night.
Reading Fightin Phils 5, Erie SeaWolves 4 (box)
Another shaky outing from Reese Olson saw the Phils salvage the final game of the series after losing five straight. Olson allowed a solo shot in the first inning, but the SeaWolves fought right back with two in the second. A pair of walks followed by singles from Luis Carpio and Daniel Cabrera seized the lead. However Reading finished Olson’s night with four singles in the fourth inning, scoring two more runs to make it 3-2.
The Fightin Phils added another run in the sixth, but in the seventh, three walks and a two-run double down the left field line from Gage Workman tied things up again. Finally in the top of the ninth, the Phils rallied for a run against Zac Houston. The SeaWolves got a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the ninth, but Dane Myers struck out to end it.
Workman: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, SB
Dingler: 1-3, BB, SO
Carpio: 3-4, RBI
Olson: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves head out to Maine to take on the Portland Sea Dogs on Tuesday night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Dayton Dragons 5 (box)
The Whitecaps jumped on Dayton early and then repelled a late charge to win on Sunday and split the home series. Carlos Guzman allowed a run in the first, but the ‘Caps came back with a five run bottom of the first to seize control.
Carlos Mendoza walked to start things, and Dustin Garneau and Austin Murr were both hit to load the bases. After Jake Holton struck out, Bryant Packard singled back up the middle, driving in a pair of runs. A sacrifice fly from Josh Crouch, and then back-to-back doubles from Corey Joyce and Jose King brought home three more runs.
With a 5-1 lead, a pair of singles and a passed ball on Garneau led to another Dragons run, but Guzman was pretty good the rest of the way. In the third Corey Joyce doubled home Bryant Packard to extend the lead, and they needed it. Dayton tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth, but ultimately fell just short of a comeback as Dario Gardea closed it out with a four-out save including three strikeouts.
Packard: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SO
Joyce: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B
Guzman (W, 6-5): 5.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 4 H, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps head to Lansing to tangle with the Lugnuts starting Tuesday night.
Bradenton Marauders 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (box)
Carlos Pena gave Lakeland a pretty good start but the offense just couldn’t get anything going and managed only two hits and three walks on the day. In the process they dropped the series four games to two. Po-Yu Chen spun seven innings of one run ball for the Marauders and just had his way with the Flying Tigers all day. Pena allowed a solo shot in the first and another run in the second, but overall the lefty was good again in tossing five innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Finally in the top of the ninth, Alvaro Gonzalez led off with a walk, moved to second on a Manuel Sequera single, and eventually scored on a Roberto Campos ground ball, but that was all the offense on the day.
Coming Up Next: Lakeland will welcome in Dunedin this week for a six game set starting Tuesday night.