Toledo Mud Hens 9, Indianapolis Indians 7 (box)
Austin Gomber had a rough outing, but so did Indians’ starter Noah Davis. The Hens bullpen wasn’t good in this one, but it was enough to hang on and win.
With two out in the bottom of the first, Max Anderson singled to right and then took second on a balk. Jace Jung doubled him in for a quick 1-0 lead.
Gomber surrendered a solo shot that tied things up in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the third the Hens took over.
Max Burt, Trei Cruz, and Cal Stevenson all reached to load the bases with
no outs. Anderson singled through the right side to score Burt, and Jung singled in Cruz and Stevenson. Later in the inning Seby Zavala’s ground out plate Anderson, and it was 5-1 Hens.
Gomber gave up a two-run triple in the top of the fourth, and Andre Granillo took over only to give up a two-run shot that tied the game 5-5.
Trei Cruz led off the bottom half with a double, and would go on to a four-hit game. Stevenson walked, and Anderson advanced them both with a ground out to second. Jung lifted a sac fly to plate Cruz and re-capture the lead. Corey Julks then tripled in Stevenson and scored on a James Outman double to make it 8-5.
Brant Hurter gave up a walk and a single in the sixth, and while his velocity was a bit better, he was still largely 91 mph with the sinker. He did punch out a rehabbing Konner Griffin with a good changeup along the way. Brenan Hanifee pitched around a leadoff double in the seventh, but gave up a solo shot to Nick Cimillo to lead off the eighth. Jack Little gave up a run in the ninth to make it 9-7, but got a ground out and a strikeout to escape a jam and collect the save.
Cruz: 4-5, 3 R, 2B
Anderson: 2-4, 2 R, RBI
Jung: 2-3, 5 RBI, 2B, BB
Gomber: 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 0 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start in Toledo on Wednesday. The Hens have this homestand before going to Iowa to play the Cubs next week. They’ll wrap up at home against the Louisville Bats from September 15-20.
Somerset Patriots 7, Erie SeaWolves 5 (box)
Lucas Elissalt put together a decent outing and Zyhir Hope drilled his 27th homer of the season, but the SeaWolves bullpen crumbled to lose the opener of their final home series of the season.
The SeaWolves got things started in the bottom of the second. E.J. Exposito led off with a double and Izaac Pacheco drew a walk. Luke Shliger singled in Exposito, and after Seth Stephenson popped out, Patrick Lee grounded into a force of Shliger at second, but Pacheco scored. Lee stole second base, and a grounder to third from Peyton Graham was misplayed and everyone was safe. The Patriots balked in Lee and it was 3-0 SeaWolves when Woody Hadeen grounded out to end the inning.
Elissalt gave up four straight one-out singles in the top of the third as Somerset made it a 3-2 game. The right-hander smothered the brewing big inning with a pair of swinging strikeouts.
Hope then led off the bottom of the third with a screamer over the right field wall.
So it was 4-2 Erie entering the fifth. An error on Graham and then a double off of Elissalt was not a promising start to the frame, and Yosber Sanchez took over. He got out of it with just one run in, making it a 4-3 Erie lead, but in the top of the sixth Sanchez gave up three more runs.
Now down 6-4, Exposito led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Pacheco doubled him to third. A Stephenson ground out scored Exposito to make it 6-5, but the SeaWolves would get no closer. Johan Simon allowed a run in the top of the seventh, and the SeaWolves couldn’t make a late push.
Exposito: 3-4, 2 R, 2B
Hope: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 2 K
Elissalt: 4.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start at UPMC Park on Wednesday. They still hold a 5.5 game lead over Chesapeake with 11 games left on their regular season calendar.
West Michigan Whitecaps 14, Dayton Dragons 11 (box)
Both starters were mauled in a wild first three innings of this one. The Whitecaps continued to pour on the power and managed to outlast Dayton for a much needed victory. After getting smacked by Peoria last week, the Whitecaps have their backs against the wall but with this victory and Great Lakes’ loss on Tuesday, the ‘Caps are now 1.5 back of the Loons in the Midwest League’s East division with five games left in the regular season.
Jackson Strong and Bryce Rainer knew the assignment, and started this off the right way with a pair of solo shots in the top of the first. That makes 15 for the center fielder and 18 for Rainer with the ‘Caps.
Rayner Castillo gave up a solo shot in the bottom half, and so it was 2-1 Whitecaps.
The second opened with Samuel Gil and Andrew Sojka both getting hit by pitches. A pair of pop-ups followed, but Strong stepped the dish again and made them pay, smoking a three-run shot to right center field to make it 5-1. This one was a 439 foot bomb for the 23-year-old center fielder, who has struggled at the plate in his second pro season but continues to chip in with good power and stolen base numbers, while playing a solid center field.
At that point Castillo fell completely apart. An error on first baseman Cristian Santana started the inning, and when the smoke cleared, the Dragons had scored seven to take an 8-5 lead. Preston Howey took over from Rainer after he’d already allowed two homers in the inning and got out of it.
With two outs in the top of the third, the Whitecaps broke through again. Gil and Sojka singled back-to-back this time, and Carson Rucker plated Gil with a grounder up the middle. Nolan McCarthy and Strong walked back-to-back to force in another run. The Dragons replaced Edgar Colon with Graham Osman, who promptly walked Rainer to force in another run and tie the game 8-8.
Finally, in the fourth neither team scored a run. However, Eliseo Mota took over on the mound with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and gave up back-to-back solo shots to make it a 10-8 Dayton lead. Another solo shot in the bottom of the sixth made it 11-8, but the Whitecaps did not lose heart.
In the top of the eighth, Rainer and Edian Espinal led off with singles and Santana walked to load the bases. Ricardo Hurtado was hit by a pitch to score Rainer. Another new reliever walked Gil to score another run. A Sojka grounder forced Gil at second, but Santana and Hurtado scored as the double play turn was thrown away. Carson Rucker singled in Sojka and suddenly it was 13-11.
In the top of the ninth, Strong walked and then stole second base. Rainer and Espinal struck out, but Santana singled in Strong for a 14-11 lead.
Logan Berrier came on for the save, and tossed a 1-2-3 inning.
Strong: 2-3, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR, 3 BB, K, SB
Rainer: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, 3 BB, K
Rucker: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, K
Castillo: 1.2 IP, 8 R, 6 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Wednesday, and the Whitecaps should have their ace, Ben Jacobs, on the mound.
Bradenton Marauders 4, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (box)
Caleb Leys was knocked around a bit in this one, but the bullpen settled things down. Unfortunately, the Flying Tigers only managed two hits as they lost to open their final series of the season.
Leys gave up one in the second inning. Jude Warwick launced a solo shot to tie things up in the top of the third, but Leys gave up two more in the bottom half. Frenny Grant surrendered a run in the fourth.
The Flying Tigers only struck out seven times, but they just couldn’t get anything to drop.
Warwick: 1-2, R, RBI, HR, K
Pinto: 1-2, BB, K, SB
Leys (L, 0-6): 2.2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, H, 3 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: Cameron Flukey will make his final start of the season on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.
