Indianapolis Indians 5, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)
Starter Ashton Goudeau got knocked around in this one, while Indy’s Quinn Priester kept the Mud Hens lineup in check for six scoreless innings as they took a 2-1 lead in the series.
Goudeau allowed five runs over four innings of work, particularly undone by a pair of home runs. Layne Henderson and Brendan White, who was up for the 27th man spot in Wednesday’s doubleheader between the Tigers and Mets but didn’t pitch, each gave the Hens a pair of scoreless innings. Closer Miguel Diaz also blanked Indy in his inning of work.
The Mud Hens finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Jermaine Palacios singled to lead off, Michael Papierski walked, John Valente knocked a single back through the box, and then Parker Meadows walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-1 Indy. At this point a comeback looked possible as Indy called on reliever Angel Perdomo to take over with the bases loaded and no outs. He froze Justyn-Henry Malloy for strike three, which is a rarity, then got Tyler Nevin to ground out as Papierski scored. Andre Lipcius lined out, and the rally came up well short of the mark.
Meadows: 1-3, RBI, BB, SO
Palacios: 1-3, R, BB
Goudeau (L, 1-2): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Brenan Hanifee (0-0, 4.13 ERA) takes on RHP Osvaldo Bido (1-2, 5.12 ERA) on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Bowie Baysox 12, Erie SeaWolves 4 (box)
A pair of home runs blew up Ty Madden’s start in this one, and then the bullpen really came unglued as Bowie ran away with this one on Thursday.
Erie actually had an early lead after Colt Keith ripped a one-out double in the top of the first, took third on a Wenceel Perez single, and scored on a Dillon Dingler flare to right field that dropped in. Unfortunately, Dingler got himself picked off at first, and Grant Witherspoon struck out to end the threat. Trei Cruz doubled in Daniel Cabrera in the second to make it 2-0 Erie, but Madden allowed a solo shot to Heston Kjerstad and then a two-run shot by Cesar Prieto in the bottom of the third.
In the top of the fifth, Colt Keith sprayed a fly ball to left field that was dropped. Keith circled the bases as the Baysox screwed up and then threw away the relay, and we had a tie game again. Erie then regained the lead when Jake Holton led off the sixth with a walk and later scored on a Cabrera ground out. 4-3 Erie.
That was the high water mark, as Bowie lit up the SeaWolves bullpen for nine runs over the next two frames.
Dingler: 2-3, RBI, BB, SB
Keith: 1-4, 2 R, 2B
Perez: 2-4
Madden: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (2-3, 5.21 ERA) takes on LHP Cade Povich (2-1, 3.71 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. ET on Friday night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Beloit Sky Carp 3 (box)
Right-hander Williander Moreno made his first start of the year, and was pretty good. The offense did enough, and the bullpen was able to hold on by the skin of their teeth late to take the win, and a 2-1 series lead, on Thursday.
The ‘Caps were able to give Moreno a bit of a lead to work with from the start, which was probably to his benefit having mainly pitched in relief in the system. Roberto Campos, who continues to show signs of learning to tap into his raw power, tripled to start the game and scored on a Steele Walker sacrifice fly.
Down in High-A Roberto Campos led off the game for West Michigan with a 400-foot triple that bounced out of the center fielder’s glove. He later scored on a Steele Walker sac fly. pic.twitter.com/lEnAQKVavp
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 5, 2023
Moreno then scattered five singles over four innings without allowing a walk. He struck out four Carp along the way, and after he left the game the ‘Caps tacked on another run in the fifth as catcher Eliezer Alfonso led off the inning with a double and scored on Austin Murr’s single two batters later.
Cristhian Tortosa took over from Moreno for two good frames, and in the seventh the Whitecaps struck again. Justice Bigbie stayed hot with a leadoff single and took third on a Dillon Paulson double. Murr singled off the Beloit second baseman, and Bigbie and Paulson came around to score.
Tyler Mattison allowed a run in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff triple. Angel Reyes picked up the save, but only after two runs scored in the bottom of the ninth on a Campos error in centerfield.
Murr: 2-4, 3 RBI
Bigbie: 2-3, R
Campos: 1-4, R, 3B, SO
Moreno: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Wilkel Hernandez (0-2, 5.60 ERA) goes for the Whitecaps on Friday night at 7:35 p.m. ET. RHP Edgar Sanchez (1-1, 6.75 ERA) gets the start for the Sky Carp.
Clearwater Threshers 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (F/10)(box)
The Flying Tigers offense was pretty quiet in this one, but they did get a good outing from starter Troy Melton. Ultimately the Threshers bullpen won out in extra innings.
Melton went five innings, allowing a fifth inning run before departing, with four strikeouts, and walks allowed. He was staked to a slim early lead in the second inning. Manuel Sequera led off with a single and took third when catcher Mike Rothenberg followed with another single. Cristian Santana popped out and Moises Valero struck out, so Sequera took the bull by the horns, stealing home on a delayed double steal with Rothenberg.
The game was deadlocked until the tenth inning, as the Flying Tigers bullpen did a nice job. In the tenth, Valero started at second base and was quickly wild pitched to third as Luke Gold reached first despite striking out on said pitch. Seth Stephenson squeezed the run home with a sacrifice bunt, and Gold then took third on a wild pitch. Things looked promising until Dom Johnson and Peyton Graham both struck out to end the inning.
Cole Patten took over for the Flying Tigers bullpen and eventually allowed a two-run walk off single to the Threshers.
Sequera: 2-4, R, 2 SO
Melton: 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: No starters are announced for Friday’s 6:30 p.m. ET contest as the Flying Tigers look to avoid falling behind 4-0 in the six-game set.