Omaha Storm Chasers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (box)
The Storm Chasers brought the thunder to Toledo on Tuesday as they mauled Bryan Sammons and Matt Seelinger each for five runs and cruised to victory.
Abraham Toro opened the scoring for Omaha with a solo shot off of Sammons in the second inning. Luke Ritter singled in Jace Jung in the bottom of the second to even things up 1-1. Unfortunately, Sammons gave up a run in the third and then got knocked around for three more in the fourth on homers by Kamerson Misner and Drew Waters.
It was 5-1 Omaha, but
the Hens made a push in the bottom of the fourth. Jung and Corey Julks walked to start the inning after Omaha went to their bullpen. Tyler Gentry stepped in and crushed a three-run shot that made it a 5-4 game. That was as close as the Hens would get.
Matt Seelinger took over in the fifth and gave up five runs on two more home runs for Omaha. It was a 10-4 game, and it stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh when Gage Workman led off with a double and then scored after back to back groundouts from Eduardo Valencia and Jung.
Lefty Konnor Pilkington did a nice job in relief, striking out three in two scoreless innings. Jack Little pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to wrap it up. Max Clark walked with one out and Workman singled him to third in the ninth. Valencia reached on an error to load the bases, but Jung and Julks struck out swinging to end it.
Workman: 3-4, R, 2B, BB
Gentry: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K
Clark: 0-4, BB, 2 K
Sammons (L, 0-3): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET in Toledo on Wednesday evening.
Erie SeaWolves 3, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 2 (box)
The SeaWolves were on base all game long but only managed to push across three runs. Stellar work from the bullpen made sure that was enough as they took down the Rumble Ponies in the first of six in Binghamton on Tuesday.
Joe Miller got the start and the lefty had himself in trouble and eventually couldn’t bob and weave his way out of it. Peyton Graham led the way for the offense in this one, and he doubled with one out in the first but was stranded. Miller gave up a single and walked two in the second inning, but a pair of strikeouts and a timely ground out stranded the bases loaded.
Finally in the top of the fourth, Brett Callahan tripled and a sacrifice fly from John Peck made it a 1-0 game. Miller came unglued in the bottom half and after allowing two runs, Woo-Suk Go had to come on and clean up the mess. He did so successfully and has been very good in the early going this year.
Andrew Jenkins singled and scored on a Bennett Lee double in the top of the fifth to even the score at 2-2. Seth Stephenson singled, but Lee was cut down at the plate to end the inning.
Graham singled and stole second base in the sixth but was stranded. Go handled the fifth without much issue, and Trevin Michael tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth and then a scoreless seventh as well.
In the top of the seventh, Stephenson reached on an error and took second base on the play. He then stole third and Graham singled him in to make it 3-2. Two more singles and a walk for the SeaWolves again loaded the bases, and again they stranded a trio.
Fortunately, Colin Fields tossed a scoreless eighth, and Tanner Kohlhepp pitched around a one out single in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save.
Graham: 3-5, RBI, 2B, SB
Bigbie: 2-4
Pacheco: 1-3, BB, 2 K
Miller: 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for an oddly specific 6:07 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Lake County Captains 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box)
The Whitecaps struck out 15 times in a rough performance for the lineup on Tuesday, including a 0-4 debut with 3 punchouts for Bryce Rainer.
Veteran Troy Watson handled the first two innings without issue, but Carlos Marcano allowed a pair of solo shots in the fourth. Seth Chavez took over and allowed two of his own in the fifth, and that was all the Captains would need in this one.
In the bottom of the fifth, Garrett Pennington led off with a single and Andrew Sojka walked. Patrick Lee singled in Pennington and then stole second, but the ‘Caps went in order from there.
Samuel Gil singled, stole second, took third on throwing error on the steal, and then scored on a Ricardo Hurtado single in the bottom of the sixth. That made it 4-2, but that was as close as the Whitecaps would get in this one.
Hurtado: 1-3, RBI, BB, K
Lee: 1-4, RBI, 2 K, SB
Marcano: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 12:05 p.m. ET start in West Michigan on Wednesday.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Tampa Tarpons 2 (box)
Lefty Grayson Grinsell put together another nice outing, and Anibal Salas and a hreabbing Thayron Liranzo led the way in this one.
Grinsell blanked the Tarpons for four innings, allowing just a single and a walk against three strikeouts.
Jordan Yost likes debuts apparently, because he stepped to the plate for his first professional at-bat in a regular season game and smoked a 103.5 mph single in the first inning though he was stranded. Yost didn’t do much else in this one, but he put the ball in play in each of his at-bats.
In the bottom of the third, the Flying Tigers broke things open. Edian Espinal walked to lead off the inning, and Salas smoked an RBI triple at 109.8 mph to centerfield. Jesus Pinto singled in Salas and took second on a Yost ground out. A grounder from Liranzo saw Pinto tagged out at third, but Zach MacDonald followed with a single and Jude Warwick walked to load the bases. Carson Rucker stepped in and delivered a two-run single up the middle to make it a 4-0 game.
Right-handed reliever Jose Guzman, who the Tigers signed last summer, continued his nice start in his first look at the A-ball levels. He punched out two in a pair of scoreless frames.
Right-hander Yendy Gomez did not do so well, allowed a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, though he tossed a scoreless eighth. He allowed seven hits overall in two innings, so he was fortunate that the damage was limited.
So it was a 4-2 game, but Salas immediately changed that by launching an opposite field shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh. That was his first of the year. Jack Goodman then reached on an error with one out, and Liranzo singled him to third where he would score on a wild pitch. That was all they would get but it was plenty.
Liranzo caught this game until Sergio Tapia took over in the top of the eighth. That may have messed with Gomez, who got the first out but then surrendered three straight singles. The last of those singles went to Salas in right field, who cut down the runner trying to score from second. Have a day, Anibal Salas. Gomez was able to collect the last out without issue. Eliseo Mota handled the ninth.
Salas: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR, K
Liranzo: 2-4, R, K
Yost: 1-3
Grinsell: 4.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 3 K
Guzman (W, 1-0): 2.0 IP, 0 R, BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Tuesday in Lakeland.
