Toledo Mud Hens 12, Rochester Red Wings 4 (box)
The Mud Hens mauled Red Wings pitching all night, pounding out 17 hits and five home runs to win on Tuesday.
Hao-Yu Lee led off the game with a walk, took third on an Akil Baddoo single, and scored on a Jace Jung fly ball that dropped for an error. Baddoo meanwhile stole second, and took third on Jung’s ball. A Max Anderson single made it 2-0.
Sawyer Gipson-Long didn’t have a very good outing in this one.
He allowed a run in the first and two in the third though he wasn’t hit very hard. The Hens scored a run in the top of the third when Baddoo singled, advanced on a poor pickoff throw, and scored on a Justyn-Henry Malloy single.
So it was 3-3 after three innings. The tie wouldn’t last long.
Trei Cruz stayed red hot with a leadoff double in the fourth. Two batters later Gage Workman crushed a two-run shot to right field and it was 5-3, and the Red Wings would be eating the Hens dust the rest of the way.
Malloy led off the fifth with a solo shot, and Trei Cruz mashed a screaming line drive over the right field wall with Jace Jung aboard later in the inning. Eduardo Valencia followed him with a solo shot, and Lee later doubled in Workman for a 10-3 lead.
Chase Lee took over from Gipson-Long in the fourth, and then allowed a run in the fifth. At that point, Alex Cobb took over and he was quite good. The veteran struck out four and walked one in three no-hit innings of relief work. Cobb is still sitting 90-91 mph, but the splitter remains pretty lethal. Is he going to be any of use to the Tigers this year? Probably not much, but maybe he can work out of the bullpen down the stretch and see if he can keep himself healthy enough to be consistent.
The Hens added another run in the seventh when Brian Serven was hit by a pitch, doubled to third by Hao-Yu Lee, and ultimately scored on a Malloy grounder that went for a double play. Serven added a solo shot in the ninth.
Cruz: 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, K
Malloy: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, K
Lee: 3-5, R, RBI, 2 2B, BB
Jung: 2-6, R, 3 K
Gipson-Long: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Cobb (W, 1-0): 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 4 K
Erie SeaWolves 4, Harrisburg Senators 3 (box)
Kevin McGonigle continued to prove himself the best hitting prospect in baseball in this one, but Thayron Liranzo was the hero late as the SeaWolves took down Harrisburg.
The Senators had one heck of a pitching prospect on the mound in Jarlin Susanna. With triple digit heat and nasty breaking stuff, the SeaWolves were in for a long night, and Susanna racked up 13 strikeouts in this one. Max Clark led off the game with a walk and stole second base, but he was stranded. A Seth Stephenson infield single was the only hit in the early innings.
Garrett Burhenn drew the start for Erie, and he allowed two runs in the second and one in the third. A decent start, but with Susanna mowing down the SeaWolves it was shaping up to be a tough one.
It was particularly tough for Max Clark. The Tigers other elite prospect took a swing in the third inning and started shaking out his right hand. He was lifted from the game with Ben Malgeri taking over. The injury looked similar to McGonigle’s hamate injury this time last year. Let’s hope it’s less serious or Clark’s season is over.
The Susanna spell was broken briefly in the fourth when McGonigle absolutely destroyed a 100 mph heater at the top of the zone. Per Greg Gania, this was only the second ball he’s seen over the building beyond the right field wall. The other belonged to Steven Moya. The lightning quick bat and raw power on display continues to be incredibly exciting for Tigers fans, and McGonigle hit this one a long, long way out to right field.
Susanna was mercifully done after five innings, and the comeback began.
McGonigle led off the sixth with a double and moved to third on a Josue Briceño screaming liner off the left field wall that only went for a single. A Justice Bigbie double play ball was enough to score McGonigle and make it 3-2 Harrisburg.
The unsung heroes in this one were RHP Duque Hebbert and LHP Andrew Magno, who each tossed two scoreless innings of relief to set up the comeback. In the bottom of the seventh, it paid off.
John Peck led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and took second on a wild pitch. Carlos Mendoza bunted Peck over to third, and Stephenson was hit by a pitch. A grounder to third base from Malgeri saw Peck cut down at home, but Thayron Liranzo drilled a single to right to score Stephenson, and then an error on the play brought in Malgeri for a 4-3 lead. Magno made it hold up to collect his second save.
Kevin McGonigle now holds a 176 wRC+ with seven homers and 17 total extra base hits in 122 plate appearances with Erie. His strikeout rate is 10.2 percent. The numbers tell the tale, but you really need to see him hit to appreciate it. Velocity, spin, offspeed, McGonigle is never fooled for more than a pitch or two. His ability to adapt through his at-bats, barrel up any pitch hard in the air or on a line, and spit on even the best stuff from Double-A pitching out of the zone is remarkable to watch. He turned 21 on Sunday, and he’s going to be in real competition for a job out of spring training next season. He’d need time to adapt and I don’t foresee the Tigers calling him up in September, but he wouldn’t be overwhelmed either.
McGonigle: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, K
Briceno: 1-3, BB, 2 K
Liranzo: 1-4, RBI, 3 K
Burhenn: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Lansing Lugnuts 1 (box)
Lucas Elissalt threw a good game and the Whitecaps took their record to 79-35 on Tuesday night.
Elissalt continues to look like one of the better young pitching prospects in the system. He blanked the Lugnuts on two hits without a walk over five innings in this one and was extremely efficient. He only needed 50 pitches, throwing 35 pitches for strikes.
Peyton Graham singled and stole second in the bottom of the first inning, but was stranded. The Whitecaps came right back in the second as Garrett Pennington, Austin Murr, and Woody Hadeen started the bottom of the inning with consecutive singles. Patrick Lee walked to force in a run, and a wild pitch brought in another for a 2-0 lead, though the Whitecaps left some meat on the bone.
In the third, Andrew Jenkins led off with a single and Izaac Pacheco walked. An error on a Pennington grounder loaded the bases, and a Hadeen single scored two for a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jackson Strong led off with his first High-A home run to make it 5-0. Murr doubled in Pacheco in the seventh to make it 6-1 after the Lugnuts hit a solo shot against a rehabbing Woo-Suk Go in the top of the sixth.
Freddy Pacheco and Carlos Lequerica tossed scoreless frames, and Colin Fields closed this one out.
Hadeen: 2-4, 2 RBI
Murr: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, K
Elissalt (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Dunedin Blue Jays 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (box)
The Flying Tigers racked up plenty of hits but didn’t get enough done with runners in scoring position as they dropped the first of six to Dunedin on Tuesday.
Nick Dumesnil led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a Jesus Pinto single. That knock was the 18-year-old Pinto’s first RBI in full season ball. The Tigers signed him for $897,500 back in January 2024. The Blue Jays got to Carlos Marcano for a run in the third, but in the bottom of the third the Flying Tigers re-opened a lead.
Dumesnil and Jack Goodman singled to start the bottom of the third. A Pinto sacrifice fly brought in Dumesnil from third and it was 2-1.
Unfortunately, Zack Lee took over from Marcano in the fourth, and he gave up five runs in four innings of work. The Flying Tigers had some baserunners the rest of the way, but couldn’t mount a comeback.
Ignacio Briceno and Joe Ruzicka each tossed a scoreless inning of work in relief.
Dumesnil: 2-4, 2 R, 2B
Pinto: 2-3, 2 RBI
Hurtado: 1-3, BB, K
Marcano: 3.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, K
Lee (L, 7-5): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K
