Toledo Mud Hens 5, Indianapolis Indians 3 (box)
Sawyer Gipson-Long gave up three in the first, but he settled in from there and the Hens bullpen was sharp as they took down Indy again on Saturday.
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Trei Cruz and Cal Stevenson walked. Max Anderson reached on a n error and a Jace Jung ground out scored Cruz. Another error on a Corey Julks grounder scored Stevenson, and a wild pitch, a walk to James Outman, a Seby Zavala strikeout, a pitching change, and Chris Meyers getting hit by a pitch completed the inning with
the game tied 3-3.
In the fourth, Michael Siani doubled and a Cruz single made it 4-3. Gipson-Long cruised through his final four innings of work, wrapping up after the top of the fifth. Corey Julks smoked a solo shot to make it 5-3 in the bottom half.
Ty Madden, Nick Sandlin, and Jack Little closed it out, allowing just two hits between them. Little collected his fifth save.
Cruz: 1-3, R, RBI, BB, K
Julks: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K
Gipson-Long (W, 3-6): 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday.
Erie SeaWolves 6, Somerset Patriots (F/8)(box)(Gm1)
Game 1 on Saturday was a wild affair that saw the SeaWolves catch up just in the nick of time, and walk it off in extras.
Somerset jumped all over Joe Miller for four runs in the first. The lefty settled down and pitched into the fifth before Tanner Kohlhepp took over for 2.1 perfect innings of work. Izaac Pacheco did his part with a pair of really nice plays at third.
In the bottom of the fourth, the SeaWolves started reeling them in. A Clayton Campbell sac fly scored Thayron Liranzo, and in the fifth, Zyhir Hope singled and Liranzo doubled him in to make it 4-2 Somerset.
In the bottom of the seventh with three outs left in the game, back-to-back doubles from Viandel Pena and Peyton Graham brought them within a run, and with two outs, Liranzo doubled to right field, tying the game, though he was thrown out at third to end the inning trying to stretch it into a triple.
So it was a whole new ballgame, but Zane Barnhart couldn’t strand the runner on second in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half, E.J. Exposito struck out, but after intentionally walking Izaac Pacheco, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. Clayton Campbell walked, and Seth Stephenson was the hero, pulling a grounder through the left side of the infield for a two-run walkoff single.
Liranzo: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, BB, K
Pacheco: 1-2 R, 2B, 2 BB
Graham: 2-4, R, RBI, 2 K, CS
Miller: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, 5 K
Somerset Patriots 6, Erie SeaWolves 3 (F/7)(box)(Gm2)
The Patriots got a lot better pitching in this one and split the doubleheader in seven innings.
The SeaWolves struck first when E.J. Exposito singled and Luke Shliger smoked a double to center field in the bottom of the second. Shliger stole second, then third, scoring on a Roberto Campos ground out for a 2-0 lead.
Colin Fields started this bullpen game off with two perfect innings with three strikeouts, but Wandisson Charles allowed a run in the fourth. Yuniel Curet gave up a homer to the first batter he saw after taking over in the fifth.
Back-to-back doubles from Patrick Lee and Seth Stephenson made it a 3-2 Erie in the bottom half of the fifth. Stephenson stole third base with one out, but got caught off third on a Woody Hadeen line out and the double play ended the threat. It was all Somerset from there.
Curet hit the first batter he faced in the sixth and walked the next two to load the bases. Johan Simon took over, making sure to throw a first pitch strike to Josh Moylan, and he anticipated this and smoked the cookie to right for a grand slam.
The SeaWolves couldn’t muster a push after that blow.
Shliger: 2-3, R, RBI, 2B, K, SB
Stephenson: 1-3, RBI, 2B, K, SB
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves final home game of the season gets underway at 1:35 p.m. ET. Fall is approaching folks. Next week they’ll wrap the 2026 regular season calendar in Reading against the Fightin Phils. With a 5.5 game lead and seven games remaining, a victory on Sunday will lock up a postseason berth as well.
Dayton Dragons 9, West Michigan Whitecaps 5 (box)
The Whitecaps started out hot in this one but Dayton ran them down and pulled away late on Saturday.
Edian Espinal started the gave with a double, Bryce Rainer walked, and a quite hot Cristian Santana bombed a three-run shot to left.
Santana will be 23 this offseason and hasn’t lived up to the billing after some precocious teenaged performances. He walks a lot, he has plenty of power and is a decent 1B/3B, but his extreme uppercut swing has always been unmanageable despite making tweaks over the years. However, after stalling in Single-A for several years and struggling with the jump to High-A, he suddenly has a .382 OBP and a .935 OPS over the last 90 days. Worth keeping an eye on.
Win Scott gave up a solo shot in the bottom half of the first, and then in the third the Dragons got to him for three runs.
Andrew Sojka led off the sixth with a single and stole second base. He eventually scored on a Juan Hernandez sacrifice fly, but the offense didn’t get anything else going.
Preston Howey and Ryan Harvey each allowed two runs in relief.
Santana: 2-5, R, 4 RBI, HR, 2 K
Rainer: 1-4, R, BB, 2 K
Espinal: 1-3, R, 2B, 2 BB
Scott: 4.0 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday as the Midwest League regular season comes to an end.
Once again we’d like to wish Whitecaps broadcaster Dan Hasty the best of luck in his future endeavors. After 12 years in West Michigan, Hasty announced last week that he’ll be moving on to new things at season’s end.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 10, Bradenton Marauders 2 (box)
Carlos Rodriguez threw a good game, and the Flying Tigers pounded out hit after hit to win comfortably on Saturday.
The Flying Tigers got the first two hitters, Zach MacDonald and Cris Rodriguez, on in the second, but they were both thrown out trying to steal second. Anibal Salas and Jude Warwick singled with two outs, and Salas scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
In the third, Angel de los Santos walked with one out and Jordan Yost and Jesus Pinto singled to load the bases. MacDonald singled in De Los Santos, but Rodriguez and Salas struck out. Still it was 2-0 Lakeland.
Rodriguez cruised early, but gave up an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth.
They cam right back in the fifth when Jesus Pinto reached on an error to start the inning. A Rodriguez single with one out kept the line moving, and an infield single from Salas loaded the bases. Warwick lifted a sac fly to plate Pinto, and Hunter Dobbins then smashed a three-run shot to left to make it a 6-1 game.
Rodriguez gave up a run in the fifth, finishing six strikeouts against two walks on the day. Pedro Garcia was excellent in relief, striking out four and handling the sixth and seventh innings.
In the eighth, Yost reached on a swinging bunt and was wild pitched to second and then to third. Pinto walked, and MacDonald smoked a drive into the right field corner for a two-run triple to make it an 8-2 game.
Frenny Grant struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth. Jordan Yost doubled in two runs in the top of the ninth to make it 10-2. Grant got in a little trouble in the ninth but punched out the final two hitters to end it.
Yost: 3-6, R, 2 RBI, 2B
MacDonald: 3-4, 3 RBI, 3B, BB, SB
Dobbins: 3-5, R, 3 RBI, HR
Cris Rodriguez: 2-5, R, 3 K, SB
Carlos Rodriguez: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers will wrap up their 2026 season on Sunday at noon.
