Toledo Mud Hens 5, St. Paul Saints 1 (box)
This was a good night for a pair of pitchers struggling a bit to adapt to the Triple-A level. Brant Hurter put together his best outing yet for the Mud Hens and Justice Bigbie led the offense.
Jace Jung doubled with two outs in the first and was stranded, but the Hens came right back the next two innings to build a lead.
In the bottom of the second, Bligh Madris doubled with one out and scored on a triple by Bigbie, who has heated up the past two weeks. Dillon Dingler’s sacrifice fly score Bigbie and it was 2-0. In the third, Gio Urshela, in his first rehab appearance, drew a walk and Jung followed with a walk as well. Keston Hiura and Buddy Kennedy struck out, but Madris singled in Urshela, moving Jung to third. Madris stole second base, and Bigbie came through again, pulling a single through the left side of the infield to score them both. 5-0.
The offense went quiet at that point, but they wouldn’t need any more. Hurter punched out nine hitters, scattering five hits and a walk in a five inning shutout performance.
Wilmer Flores blanked the Saints for two innings with three strikeouts. Flores looked really good in this one, hitting 99.6 mph on the gun and breaking off numerous good sliders. The fastball command was significantly better than some of his recent appearances. Hopefully he’s settling in.
Devin Sweet allowed a solo shot, but otherwise handled the last two innings without much issue.
Bigbie: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, 3B
Madris: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, 2 K, SB
Urshela: 1-2, R, BB
Hurter (W, 1-1): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 5 H, BB, 9 K
Coming Up Next: First pitch on Friday night is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
Erie SeaWolves 3, Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)
Wilkel Hernandez was excellent in this one, and while the offense struggling to convert many runs considering they collected nine hits and five walks, it was enough as the SeaWolves bullpen was on point.
Hernandez allowed the first run in the game in the top of the fifth inning, but otherwise spun six innings of two-hit ball with a walk and five strikeouts. The offense got that run back in the bottom half of the fifth when Gage Workman walked with two outs, and Carlos Mendoza tripled to right field.
The SeaWolves scored again in the seventh when Ben Malgeri doubled with one out. Workman and Mendoza followed with singles to score him and make it 2-1 Erie.
In the eighth, Chris Meyers walked with one out. Trei Cruz singled Meyers to third and Malgeri followed with a walk to load the bases. Meyers scored on a Workman ground out, but Cruz was caught trying to steal home to end the inning.
It didn’t matter, as Tim Naughton and P.J. Poulin locked the lead down for three innings.
Mendoza: 2-3, 2 RBI, 3B, BB
Malgeri: 2-3, R, 2B, BB
Hernandez: 6.0 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Friday night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Fort Wayne TinCaps 3 (box)
The Whitecaps made it three in a row over the TinCaps on Thursday.
Carlos Marcano put together his best start at the High-A level in this one. The sinkerballer allowed just one run on two hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five along the way, which is a positive sign for him.
He got a little help from his defense along the way.
The offense wasted some early chances, but they broke all the way through in the bottom of the fifth. Peyton Graham and Dom Johnson led off the inning with singles. They advanced 90 feet on a Seth Stephenson grounder where he reached on a failed fielder’s choice and Max Anderson singled in Graham to tie the game. Luke Gold stepped to the dish and untied the game with a rocket to left field for a grand slam. 5-1 Whitecaps.
Tanner Kohlhepp took over with good work in the sixth and seventh innings. Marco Jimenez gave up two runs in the eighth, but in the bottom half, Izaac Pacheco led off with a single and took second on a poor pickoff throw. Josh Crouch walked and a Danny Serretti fly out allowed Pacheco to tag and take third. Graham lifted a fly ball out to center field and Pacheco tagged and scored to make it 6-3 where it ended.
Gold: 1-3, R, 4 RBI, 2 K
Graham: 1-2, R, RBI, BB
Stephenson: 1-4, R, BB, K, CS
Marcano (W, 1-3): 5.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. ET on Friday.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 1, Daytona Tortugas 0 (box)
The Flying Tigers also made it three in a row, as the pitching staff outdueled Daytona’s arms on a day when the hit with runners in scoring position were precious.
Hayden Minton got the start, and while he only struck out one batter, he scattered four hits and a walk through five scoreless innings. Jake Miller took over and was even better, striking out seven with just three hits and no walks allowed over the final four frames to earn the rare 12-out save.
The Flying Tigers wasted a good scoring chance in the second inning. Josue Briceño singled in both the first and the third but never advanced. It went like that most of the game. However in the fourth, Jose De La Cruz and David Smith started the inning with singles. A Cristian Santana ground ball went for an error and De La Cruz scored what would be the only run of the contest.
In the sixth, Clayton Campbell and De La Cruz led off with singles, but Campbell was thrown out trying to go first to third. Smith struck out, but Santana walked to put runners on first and second with two out. Archer Brookman flew out to right to end the inning.
Max Clark singled and reached second as Briceño was hit by a pitch, but Campbell struck out to end the inning. A day of LOBsters, but an even worse one for Daytona.
De La Cruz: 2-3, R
Briceño: 2-3, K
Minton (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, BB, K
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET as the Flying Tigers look to secure a series victory in Daytona Beach. The Flying Tigers four game winning streak has them half a game up on Clearwater in the West division.