Toledo Mud Hens 10, St. Paul Saints 6 (box)
Toledo scored 10 runs across the fourth and fifth innings to secure a 4-2 series victory. Jace Jung delivered the biggest swing with his 20th home run of the season, a grand slam that gave him five RBI.
Riley Greene started in left field for his second rehab game. He went 1-for-2 with two walks, reaching base three times after going 0-for-4 on Saturday. Greene’s fifth-inning single left the bat at 110.7 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the game.
St. Paul scored first, taking a brief 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Sawyer Gipson-Long started for the Hens. He wasn’t great, but a two-out solo shot was all the damage he allowed through the first three frames. Fortunately, Toledo’s offense came to life before he gave up more runs.
The Mud Hens had a man in scoring position in the second and third innings, but inning-ending double plays ruined both opportunities. In the former, Josue Briceño tagged from second and started toward third, but turned back too late and was doubled off. Even worse, it looked like he twisted his ankle sliding and left the game. Trei Cruz grounded into the other after a pair of walks.
John Peck and Max Anderson singled to begin the fourth, and a throwing error on Cal Stevenson’s sacrifice bunt loaded the bases. Seby Zavala brought in two with a double to left, and Jung brought Stevenson home with a groundout.
Max Burt followed with an RBI double before advancing on a wild pitch and scoring on a passed ball during Greene’s walk, making it 5-1.
St. Paul cut the lead to two in the bottom half. Kala’i Rosario led off with a homer, and Ian Daugherty added an RBI single before Gipson-Long struck out Emmanuel Rodriguez for his final out.
Gipson-Long allowed three runs on five hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings, striking out six. He generated 12 whiffs on 33 swings, with his slider accounting for eight on 13 swings. His four-seamer averaged 90.8 mph, two mph below his season average.
The Hens put the game away in the fifth. Peck led off with another single, Anderson walked and Zavala loaded the bases with his third hit. Jung drove them all home with a grand slam to left.
Burt walked with two outs, and Greene’s single moved him to third. Trei Cruz followed with an RBI single to extend Toledo’s lead to 10-3.
Nick Sandlin finished the fourth for Gipson-Long and started the fifth. He allowed a leadoff double and struck out a batter before giving way to Ty Madden, who worked through the sixth. Madden allowed one run on two hits while striking out two.
Hayden Minton surrendered solo homers to Rosario and Cody Morissette in the seventh. Four of the five balls put in play against him were hard hit, averaging 100.5 mph.
Jack Little inherited a runner with one out in the eighth but stranded men on the corners after allowing a double. He worked around Rosario’s leadoff double in the ninth to finish the series victory with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Jung: 1-5, HR (20), R, 5 RBI
Zavala: 3-5, 2B (2), 2 R, 2 RBI, K
Greene: 1-2, 2 BB
Burt: 2-3, 2B (12), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
Gipson-Long: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
Coming Up Next: The Mud Hens host the Indianapolis Indians on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. ET. Toledo won the series 4-2.
Erie SeaWolves 7, Altoona Curve 2 (box)
Erie completed an impressive recovery in the series finale. After dropping the first three games in Altoona, the SeaWolves won the final three by a combined score of 24-9 to secure a split.
Izaac Pacheco homered twice, and Thayron Liranzo added a three-run shot. Carlos Peña took care of the rest, holding Altoona scoreless over five efficient innings.
Woody Hadeen led off the game with a triple and scored on a Zyhir Hope single. Pacheco doubled the lead in the second with his 18th homer of the season, a leadoff shot.
Hadeen and Hope opened the third with singles, and Liranzo launched his 15th home run of the year to right-center. Pacheco followed two batters later with his second homer of the game, extending Erie’s lead to 6-0.
Peña allowed his first hits in the fourth when Konnor Griffin and Murf Gray hit back-to-back singles and put runners on the corners. Callan Moss grounded into an inning-ending double play to erase the threat, and Peña retired the side in order in the fifth.
Peña needed only 57 pitches to complete five shutout innings, throwing 40 for strikes. He allowed two hits without issuing a walk and struck out four.
Colin Fields struck out the side in the sixth, generating six whiffs on 15 pitches.
The SeaWolves added their final run in the seventh. E.J. Exposito and Pacheco walked before Exposito stole third and scored when catcher Camden Janik’s throw sailed into the outfield.
Eric Silva surrendered a solo homer to Gray in the bottom half but struck out two. Tanner Kohlhepp followed with a perfect eighth.
Wandisson Charles made the ninth more stressful than it needed to be. A Pacheco error, a single and two walks forced in Altoona’s second run. Charles recovered with a strikeout and a forceout to end the game with the bases loaded. He generated seven whiffs, the most by any Erie pitcher.
Pacheco: 2-3, 2 HR (19), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Hadeen: 2-3, 3B (2), 2 R, BB, HBP
Hope: 2-5, R, RBI, K
Liranzo: 1-5, HR (15), R, 3 RBI, K
Peña (W, 7-4): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves host the Somerset Patriots on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. ET. Erie split the series 3-3.
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Peoria Chiefs 1 (box)
West Michigan finished a disappointing series on a high note, combining strong bullpen work with three crooked numbers on the scoreboard. Five Whitecaps pitchers held Peoria to four hits, while Cristian Santana homered for the second game in a row.
Zack Lee opened the bullpen game with two scoreless innings. Andrew Williamson led off the game with a single, but Lee retired the next six batters in order.
Donye Evans followed with two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit and one walk but faced the minimum after Cristian Santana caught Ryan Weingartner too far off first for an unassisted double play.
The Whitecaps broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. Bryce Rainer and Edian Espinal singled before Stephen Hrustich drove them both home with a two-out single to right.
Jalen Evans struck out three over two innings and generated a game-high nine whiffs. His only mistake came against Sammy Hernandez, who hit a two-out solo homer in the sixth to cut West Michigan’s lead to one.
The Whitecaps responded with four runs in the bottom half. Espinal notched his third hit with two outs, and Santana was hit by a pitch before Peoria made a pitching change. Hrustich drove in Espinal with another single, and Samuel Gil walked to load the bases.
Andrew Sojka brought Santana and Hrustich home with a single to center. Sojka swiped second, and Gil scored when catcher Sammy Hernandez threw the ball away, making it 6-1.
Santana put the game away in the seventh. Juan Hernandez and Espinal both reached before Santana launched his 14th homer of the season to left.
Ethan Sloan struck out two in a perfect seventh. Luke Hoskins handled the final two innings, working around a single and a hit batter without allowing a run.
Espinal: 3-4, 3 R, SB
Santana: 1-3, HR (14), 2 R, 3 RBI, HBP, K
Hrustich: 2-4, R, 3 RBI
Sojka: 1-4, 2 RBI, SB, K
J. Evans: 2.0 IP, ER, H, BB, 3 K, HR
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps open a series in Dayton on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Peoria won the series 4-2.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Clearwater Threshers 4 (box)
Lakeland closed out a 3-2 series victory behind another strong pitching performance from Kelvis Salcedo and a pair of doubles from Cris Rodriguez. The Flying Tigers scored six times between the fourth and sixth innings to pull away.
Clearwater scored an unearned run against Salcedo in the second. Nolan Beltran reached on a throwing error by Angel De Los Santos and scored on a Cade Climie single.
Lakeland tied the game in the bottom half. Michael Oliveto singled with one out, and Rodriguez drove him home with his first double of the game.
Clearwater retook the lead in the fourth. Matthew Ferrara and Beltran singled before Climie brought Ferrara home with a sacrifice fly.
Zach MacDonald walked to start the bottom half and eventually scored on a Rodriguez groundout, tying the game at two.
Salcedo completed four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. He generated 15 whiffs on 32 swings. Hitters missed all five times they offered at his splitter, while his slider produced four whiffs on five swings. Salcedo’s four-seamer averaged 95.6 mph and topped out at 98.6 mph.
Yendy Gomez handled a perfect fifth on 12 pitches, striking out Tyler Spangler. Lakeland took its first lead in the bottom half.
Jack Goodman singled, and De Los Santos walked before a pair of wild pitches moved both up two bases and scored a run. Jesus Pinto followed up with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
Clearwater cut the lead to one against Owen Hall in the sixth. Ferrara singled and scored on Beltran’s double, but Hall escaped further trouble by inducing an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
The Flying Tigers answered with three runs. Oliveto singled, and Rodriguez collected his second double to put two runners in scoring position. Anibal Salas singled Oliveto home, and Javier Osorio brought in Rodriguez with a sacrifice fly.
De Los Santos singled with two outs, and Jude Warwick drove Salas home with an RBI single, extending the lead to 7-3.
Hall allowed another run on a Will Vierling double in the eighth but completed 3 1/3 innings with the lead intact. He finished the day with two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three.
Xiomer Guacache recorded the final two outs. He walked one but struck out Macon Winslow to finish the series off with a win.
Rodriguez: 2-4, 2 2B (3), 2 RBI, K
Oliveto: 2-4, 2 R
Salas: 1-3, RBI, BB, K
De Los Santos: 1-3, R, BB
Salcedo: 4.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers open a series in Bradenton on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Lakeland won the series 3-2.