Toledo Mud Hens 8, Omaha Storm Chasers 2 (Sunday)(box)
The Hens wrapped up their road series in style, bashing three home runs and getting a good start from Alex Faedo to take the six-game set four games to two on Sunday.
Faedo tossed four innings, allowing a solo home run while striking out five without a walk issued. Much improved over his first outing.
The Hens were down 1-0 in the top of the fourth when they started to erupt offensively. Parker Meadows moved up into the leadoff spot this weekend with Akil Baddoo recalled to Detroit, and he did a solid job setting the table with a pair of hits, including a double. Still it was the long ball that really kicked things off.
Andy Ibañez cracked his third home run to lead off the fourth. With two outs, Jermaine Palacios added a solo shot of his own. Catcher Michael Papierski followed with a single, and he scored on Meadows RBI double. 3-1 Hens.
They added a run in the fifth when Justyn-Henry Malloy reached on an error and later scored on a Jonathan Davis single. 4-1 Hens.
Other than Aneurys Zabala, who walked in a run in the sixth, the bullpen was good. Tyler Holton, Brendan White, Jace Fry, and Miguel Diaz combined for four scoreless innings and six punchouts.
Zack Short led off the seventh with his third home run of the year to make it 5-2. They’d add three more in the eighth to pull away.
Meadows: 2-6, R, RBI, 2B, SO
Nevin: 2-4, RBI, BB
Malloy: 2-4, R, RBI
Short: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB
Faedo: 4.0 IP, ER, 5 H, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: The Mud Hens return home to welcome in the Louisville Bats for six starting Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. ET.
Omaha Storm Chasers 13, Toledo Mud Hens 8 (Saturday)(box)
The Hens racked up 13 hits in this one, but didn’t do much damage. Meanwhile, the pitching staff, led by Michael Lorenzen’s rehab outing, got well and truly clobbered on Saturday.
Lorenzen went 2 1⁄3 innings, allowing four earned runs on two hits and three walks, with a pair of punchouts. He was reportedly feeling good afterwards, which is mainly what counts, but it wouldn’t be shocking if he got one more outing to try and dial in his command after being on the shelf for a few weeks now.
Will Vest and starter Ashton Goudeau took the brunt of the Storm Chasers’ wrath from there, giving up four and five earned runs, respectively.
Short: 3-6, R, RBI, SO
Malloy: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB
Lorenzen (L, 0-1): 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 SO
Erie SeaWolves 3, Akron RubberDucks 2 (F/11)(Saturday)(box)
The SeaWolves took their opening series in Akron two games to one with a victory on Saturday. They were off on Sunday. Starter Ty Madden was the star of the show in this one, putting up one heck of a season debut, but it was catcher Josh Crouch who racked up the game winning single in the 11th inning.
Madden looked fantastic in his four no-hit innings. He showed off a few more adjustments to his kick and arm slot, and dominated with 10 strikeouts. The fastball velocity topped out at 99 mph and his command was very good, particularly for his first time out. He showed off a sharp mix of cutters and curveballs as well, but he blew away Storm Chasers’ hitters with the fastball at will. There were shadows playing in front of the plate in the early innings which certainly helped both starting pitchers, but Madden was superb regardless. He’s a very different pitcher than he was on draft day, and the transformation hit a new level on Saturday.
The SeaWolves took the early lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly from Colt Keith to score Diego Rincones, who’d led the inning off with a walk. However, Billy Lescher allowed a run in the fifth after taking over from Madden and the game would stay knotted until the end.
In the tenth inning, with Corey Joyce pinch-running for Julio E. Rodriguez at second base, John Valente came up with a one-out single to move Joyce to third. A Trei Cruz ground out allowed Joyce to score the go-ahead run. Unfortunately, despite reliever Austin Bergner striking out the side, the runner on second scored on a passed ball and then a throwing error from Crouch.
The SeaWolves came right back in the 11th, when Crouch redeemed himself with an RBI single to score Keith from second base. Bergner was able to close it out despite a leadoff walk and earned the save.
Cruz: 3-5, RBI, 2 2B
Witherspoon: 2-5, 2 SO
Keith: 0-3, R, RBI, BB
Madden: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, BB, 10 SO
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves welcome in the Altoona Curve for six starting on Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. ET.
West Michigan Whitecaps 3, Fort Wayne TinCaps 1 (Saturday)(box)
The Whitecaps completed a three-game sweep at home on Saturday with a comeback victory after a seventh inning rally.
RHP Keider Montero was solid in his season debut. He tossed four innings of one-run ball, scattering three hits and two walks, with three strikeouts.
The offense was pretty quiet despite collecting eight walks from TinCaps’ pitching. They squandered an Izaac Pacheco leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning. They also had runners on first and second with one out in the fourth and couldn’t push a run across there either.
Finally they broke through as Fort Wayne issued four straight walks to open the bottom of the seventh inning. A Luis Garcia ground ball was converted into an out when the TinCaps came home with it, but the bases were still loaded. Ben Malgeri singled in a run, and a fifth walk in the half-inning, to Jace Jung, forced across the third run.
Tyler Mattison earned his second save, allowing a single and no more in the top of the ninth.
Pacheco: 2-3, 2B, BB
Malgeri: 1-3, RBI, BB, SO
Montero: 4.0 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 SO
Coming Up Next: LHP Jack O’Loughlin gets the ball on Tuesday night as the Whitecaps travel to Lansing to take on the Lugnuts at 6:05 p.m. ET.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 5, Tampa Tarpons 1 (Sunday)(box)
The Flying Tigers won the rubber game of their three-game opening set on the road in Tampa on Sunday. Starter Carlos Marcano wasn’t overpowering to Tampa hitters, but he managed to blank them for 3 2⁄3 innings despite just one strikeout.
Adinso Reyes got things started for the offense in the second inning when he led off with a double. Manuel Sequera singled him to third with one out, and Reyes scored on a Mike Rothenberg ground out. Jose De La Cruz singled Sequera to third, and he scored on a De La Cruz stolen base attempt.
The Tarpons got a run back in the fifth to make it 2-1, but Lakeland got that run back in the eighth courtesy of a De La Cruz leadoff single, a single from Wenceel Perez, and a wild pitch. In the top of the ninth they put it away when Seth Stephenson singled with two on and two outs, and an error allowed a second run to score.
De La Cruz: 3-3
Stephenson: 1-1, R, 2 RBI, SB
Marcano: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, SO
Tampa Tarpons 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (Saturday)(box)
Right-hander Ulices Campos had a bit of a rough go in his first start of the season on Saturday. The 21-year-old allowed three runs in 3 1⁄3 innings, and the offense could only muster five hits in a forgettable performance that featured no walks to the Flying Tigers. At this level that’s a guarantee that the AB’s weren’t great.
Graham: 2-4, 2B, SO, CS
Stephenson: 1-3, R, SO, CS
Campos (L, 0-1): 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers welcome in the Bradenton Marauders for six games starting on Tuesday night, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. ET.