Toledo Mud Hens 9, Louisville Bats 4 (box)
Sawyer Gipson-Long had another short yet intriguing outing. His strikeout numbers are decent — six today and five last week — but he couldn’t make it to the fourth inning this week. There’s consistent contact, except when there isn’t. He struck out five straight after allowing four of the first five batters to reach base. It’s just odd. He’s entering the final third of his first season post Tommy John, and it can take time, but he just hasn’t been able to find the old 93-94 mph heat consistently,
making him too vulnerable when he’s not spotting the fastball well.
Anyway, the three-spot Gipson-Long gave up in the top of the first didn’t hurt for too long. Max Clark, Javier Baez and the rest of the offense got all three runs back immediately. Clark walked, Baez doubled him in and Gage Workman tripled in another run. Corey Julks had the tying RBI, with a single through the left side.
There was an odd moment after Jace Jung blooped a single to center field. The outfielder trapped the ball and threw the ball into second, which should result in a forceout for the lead runner. For whatever reason, the umpires ruled the ball dead after the trap and gave Julks the base.
So, instead of it being man on first, one out, it was men on first and second, two outs. Louisville manager Pat Kelly got ejected arguing, but the Bats managed to escape the inning without letting either man score.
Gipson-Long got the hook in the third and was replaced by Luke Taggart, who ended up getting the win. Clark hit a two-run homer in the fourth between Troy Watson taking over for Taggart. The Tigers top prospect has four homers in July now, and is starting to make his case for a promotion. Baez doubled again in the same inning, but nothing came of it.
Watson gave up a run, bringing the score to 5-4 in the fifth, but he had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Perhaps Watson had a little less pressure on him in the latter frame after Carlos Perez hit a grand slam to put Toledo up by five.
Enmanuel De Jesus and Ricky Vanasco finished up the final third of the game on the mound for the Mud Hens. They were one batter away from being perfect, but De Jesus hit someone. Vanasco struck out the side to finish it off.
The offense didn’t do a ton after the grand slam. Just another double for Baez, his third of the day. It’s only his third rehab game, but he looks ready.
Clark: 1-3, HR (10), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K
Baez: 3-4, 3 2B (3), R, RBI
Anderson: 0-4
Perez 1-2, HR (2), 2 R, 4 RBI, BB
Gipson-Long: 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: The Hens lead 4-1 in the series with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Erie SeaWolves 4, Chesapeake Baysox 1 (box)
Jackson Jobe made another rehab start in Erie and went four innings this time around. He only threw 54 pitches, but we know that the organization is taking things slow with him. There are some command issues, but the stuff looks good as he works his way back post UCL reconstruction. Four strikeouts, two walks and a run in the first inning on back-to-back doubles. Jobe didn’t allow another hit after that.
Jobe left the game with the score tied, 1-1, thanks to a Josue Briceno home run. That was the first real bit of offense for Erie in the game after sending the minimum to the plate through the first three frames.
Garrett Pennington broke the tie in the fifth with a leadoff solo shot. Patrick Lee did the same in the sixth, his first big fly at the Double-A level.
Andrew Sears threw four innings after Jobe, serving in a long-relief role instead of his usual short start. It’s working out nicely for a guy who worked his way back from an elbow fracture. Sears took a comebacker off the leg during this outing. The entire training staff sprinted out there, but he seemed fine afterward. In fact, he didn’t allow another baserunner after that, retiring 11 straight.
Seth Stephenson hit a sac fly in the eighth for an insurance run, and Tyler Owens worked around a two-out double for his second save.
Briceno: 1-4, HR (2), R, RBI, 2 K
Pennington: 1-4, HR (4), R, RBI, K
Patrick Lee: 2-3, HR (1), R, RBI
Jobe: 4.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Sears (W, 2-1): 4.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:05 p.m. ET start in Chesapeake on Sunday with Erie leading the series 3-2.
West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Peoria Chiefs 3 (box)
The offense started off very slow, but something clicked in the fifth inning. Tanner Franklin, last year’s No. 72 overall pick out of Tennessee, retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, striking out seven Whitecaps. He finally let up a bit in the fifth, with a leadoff walk and follow-up single. West Michigan finally got a run on the board, but it came on a double play. Franklin struck out the last batter he faced to prove it was just a quick lapse instead of a meltdown.
After that, the ‘Caps started scoring at will. Woody Hadeen doubled and came around on a Bryce Rainer single up the middle in the sixth, and Stephen Hrustich gave West Michigan the lead with a three-run homer int he seventh.
While the Whitecaps trailed 3-0 going into that fifth inning, the pitching staff was solid for most of the night. Joe Miller gave three innings of solid work in his first rehab start since returning on July 13. Miller came out of the bullpen for the FCL club and Lakeland prior to this outing. He only allowed two hits and a walk, but he did hit a batter. Still, no runs is a good thing.
CJ Weins gave up those three runs in the fourth after taking over for Miller. Anyelo Encarnacion took him deep, and the stuff just wasn’t very good. Three walks, three hits, and three runs over two frames.
Ethan Sloan was next, throwing two innings of one-hit baseball and allowing the offense to mount the comeback. Sloan was rewarded with the win, and Logan Berrier got a two-inning save while striking out five of the eight batters he faced.
Clayton Campbell gave West Michigan an insurance run in the eighth, doubling in Hadeen and securing the Whitecaps’ first win of the series.
Rainer: 1-4, RBI, 2 K
Hrustich: 1-4, HR (5), R, 3 RBI, K
Miller: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 3:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday with Peoria leading the series 4-1.
(F/6) Jupiter Hammerheads 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)
They only got to play six in Lakeland today as lightning caused a 48-minute rain delay before ending the day.
The Flying Tigers didn’t have any hits or runs, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Seven walks meant there was plenty of traffic on the basepaths. They just couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it, going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and stranding five of those baserunners.
Malachi Witherspoon had a bad day. He walked the bases loaded in the second and gave up back-to-back RBI singles. Four runs came across, all earned, but there was a throwing error that moved everyone up a base during all of that.
Thayron Liranzo also took a bat to the elbow as the hitter was letting go. He got looked at and stayed in the game. Witherspoon saw another run cross in the third on a sac fly.
Win Scott worked around a one-out double in the fifth. Kelvis Salcedo made it through the sixth in a rehab appearance after giving up a leadoff single and walking a batter. Gifted with perhaps the best pure stuff of any pitcher in the system, it’s just good to see the 20-year-old right-hander back on the mound.
Yost: 0-2, BB
Ankeney: 0-0, 3 BB
Witherspoon (L, 3-4): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a noon ET start in Lakeland with the Flying Tigers leading the series 3-2.
DSL Phillies 9, DSL Tigers (1) 0 (box)
If I had a nickel for every Tigers affiliate that got no-hit in a game that didn’t go nine innings on Saturday, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot — but it’s weird it happened twice.
This was a weird one. Both teams combined for one hit through the first four innings, and then the Phillies blew it wide open with a pair of crooked numbers. There’s not much of a silver lining here for the Tigers. The offense only had three walks, and starter Andres Ortiz fell apart in the fifth, allowing three runs.
Oliver Castillo got two outs after giving up the base hit that scored the third run, and he was bailed out a bit by catcher Carlos Benavides, who caught a runner stealing. Jesus Febles lost his command completley after loading the bases. With two outs, he hit a batter and walked the next three while mixing in a pair of wild pitches and a balk. Yeesh.
Luis Vasquez got the final out, but not before giving up two hits, including a two-run double. Double yeesh.
Ortiz (L, 0-4): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: The DSL Tigers 1 club is the home team against the DSL Rangers Red on Monday at 11 a.m. ET.
DSL Tigers (2) 11, DSL Miami 1 (box)
This one was the complete opposite of the other DSL game. Pitching was good throughout, and the offense scored 11 runs on three hits. That’s not a typo. The Miami team walked 12 batters, threw six wild pitches and hit a batter.
Only five of the runs were truly “batted in.” Eduardo Tusen and Willian Berti both hit two-run homers and walked with the bases loaded. Diego Orro drove one in with a groundout and also walked with the bases loaded for another. The other three runs came on wild pitches.
Pitching-wise, Alexis Marinez was good for three innings in his start. He only allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out five. Dariel Morillo got the next two innings, allowing one hit. Abelardo Medrano and Raimi Mueses each threw an inning as well. Medrano gave up the only run of the day to Miami. He walked a batter and threw a pair of wild pitches.
Tusen: 1-3, HR (5), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K
Berti: 1-1, HR (5), 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB
Marinez: 3.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 5 K
