Toledo Mud Hens 16, Iowa Cubs 1 (box)
With Justin Verlander on the mound, the Mud Hens’ offense honored their famous temp by absolutely mauling Cubs’ pitching on Tuesday.
Verlander, sidelined after one start this spring with a hip issue, looked pretty good. He had no trouble at all with the Cubs, scattering three singles and a double without allowing a walk. He struck out four, pounding the zone consistently throughout his outing. The slider and his changeup were both pretty sharp, and his fastball command looked good as well. Verlander averaged
93.5 mph and 19 inches of IVB, with several pitches topping out at 95 mph. That will do pretty nicely, and hopefully he can find a little more gas in the tank as he builds up. He threw 48 of 64 pitches for strikes. Presumably he’ll get one more rehab start before returning to the Tigers.
Funny and nostalgic seeing Verlander in a Mud Hens uniform. Last time I saw him pitch at Fifth Third Park was a rehab start in 2015 before he returned to the Tigers and served notice that his incredible career was nowhere close to done. The only guy who hit him in that game was a young prospect named Francisco Lindor.
The Hens gave the future Hall of Famer run support right out of the chute. Max Clark started the game with a walk, and two batters later Max Anderson cracked a two-run shot to left. In the third, Ben Malgeri and Anderson doubled back-to-back, and then Eduardo Valencia cleared the bases with his 10th homer on the year to make it 5-0.
In the fifth, Malgeri led off with his second double of the game, and Anderson reached on an error. Gage Workman plated Malgeri with a single and Valencia singled to load the bases. Trei Cruz stepped into the box and lifted a towering shot to left for a grand slam. 10-0 Hens. They went on to score two more runs in the inning.
Jack Little gave up the lone Cubs run in the seventh. Max Clark launched a solo shot in the eighth against a position player, his third on the year. With Anderson and Workman on in the ninth, Cruz lined out to center field, but a poor throw from the Cubs center fielder allowed both runs to score and make it 16-1.
Anderson: 4-6, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR
Cruz: 2-6, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, K
Clark: 1-3, 3 R, RBI, HR, 3 BB
Valencia: 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
Verlander (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:08 p.m. ET start in Des Moines on Wednesday.
Richmond Flying Squirrels 8, Erie SeaWolves 7 (box)
A late rally fell just short on Tuesday night in Richmond.
The SeaWolves scored quickly as Seth Stephenson doubled to open the game, and then scored on a John Peck grounder that went for an error. That 1-0 lead didn’t last, as Max Alba allowed three runs in the bottom half and single runs in the fourth and fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Stephenson singled with one out and stole his 25th base of the season. Brett Callahan followed with a walk, and Peck reached on an infield single to load the bases. Patience and a good eye from Thayron Liranzo helped him draw a walk that forced in a run, but Chris Meyers struck out and Andrew Jenkins grounded out to squander a chance at a big inning to get back into this one.
So it was 5-2 Richmond heading into the seventh inning. Stephenson drew a leadoff walk, but was shockingly caught stealing. Brett Callahan drew a walk to replace him, and Peck reached on an error. Liranzo drew another walk to load the bases, and with two outs, Jenkins came through with a two-run single to make it a 5-4 game.
Johan Simon did a nice job taking over from Alba and racking up five straight outs, but Dariel Fregio came on to allow three more runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Flying Squirrels needed those add-on runs.
In the top of the ninth, Peck led off with a double. Liranzo took a called strike three, but Peck stole third and scored on an errant throw from Richmond catcher Ty Hanchey. Jenkins singled with two outs, and he rode home on Izaac Pacheco’s sixth home run to make it an 8-7 game. Peyton Graham followed with a single as the potential tying run and Aaron Antonini drew a walk. Stephenson unfortunately struck out to end it.
Stephenson: 2-5, 2 R, BB, K, SB, CS
Peck: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, K, SB
Graham: 3-5, K
Alba (L, 0-2): 4.1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 8 H, BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: They’ll get back at it on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Dayton Dragons 10, West Michigan Whitecaps 4 (box)
Hayden Minton put together an extemely Jekyll and Hyde outing, and the Whitecaps bullpen did nothing to let them get back into this one.
Minton punched out 10 hitters in 4.1 innings of work. He walked just one and allowed just four hits. The problem was that three of those hits were home runs. He allowed three in the top of the third, and one more as he departed in the fifth.
The Whitecaps answered right back after the Dragons three-run outburst with three of their own in the bottom of the third. Andrew Sojka led off with a walk and Junior Tilien singled. A Woody Hadeen ground out to first moved the runners, and two batters later Garrett Pennington launched a three-run shot, his ninth on the year.
Juanmi Vasquez and Zack Lee each allowed a run in relief. In the bottom of the eighth, Bryce Rainer drew a walk and Clayton Campbell singled. Rainer scored as Jackson Strong grounded into a double play to make it 6-44, but Ethan Sloan allowed four runs in the top of the ninth to end hopes of a comeback.
Pennington; 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K
Rainer: 1-2, R, 2 BB, K
Minton (L, 2-3): 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, BB, 10 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start in Comstock Park on Wednesday.
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 10, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (box)
We got some good news in this one, as left-hander Jake Miller made his season debut in a rehab outing. Miller was our preseason top pitching prospect in the system, although that’s a bit of a dubious honor considering he’s still not a top 100 caliber starter. After an injury plagued season in 2025 in which he was diagnosed with lumbar back issues that were later linked to hip labrum tears that required surgery on both hips, Miller spent until early May rehabbing and is just now ramping up in game action.
The game, however, did not go the Flying Tigers’ way as Grayson Grinsell was rocked in relief of Miller. Miller fired two scoreless innings of one-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts. He’s still going to need to develop a cutter or a harder breaking ball to go with a good fourseam-changeup combination and a slow sweeper, but Miller pounds the strike zone and has some deception and good armspeed that helps his stuff play up.
Jesus Pinto, rapidly getting love in Tigers’ prospecting circles, blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the second to give the Flying Tigers an early lead. Grinsell took over from Miller in the third and surrendered three runs. Jack Goodman answered back with a solo shot in the bottom of the third.
So it was 3-2 Fort Myers, and Grinsell then was tagged for three more runs in the fifth. They added on against Pedro Garcia, and the Flying Tigers offense stalled out despite several scoring opportunites later in the game.
Warwick: 2-4, 2B, 2 K
Espinal: 2-4, K
Miller: 2.0 IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, 2 K
Grinsell (L, 3-2): 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.
Rookie Ball
Our favorite lesser known pitching prospect, RHP Jhonan Coba, led the FCL Tigers to an 8-0 victory on Tuesday, although Johnathan Rogers, the Tigers 20th rounder in Scott Harris’ first draft in 2023, who recently re-signed with the club at age 21, got the win. Coba went three innings, allowing two hits, no walks, while striking out five. Cris Rodriguez doubled in that game, but struck out twice.
In the second game of a doubleheader, the FCL Tigers roster beat the Phillies 4-3 as well. Cristian Perez, a name to watch, homered in that one, his fifth already on the year for the 19-year-old center fielder. He holds a .990 OPS so far in 19 games.
