Memphis Redbirds 11, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (box)
Bryan Sammons threw a decent game, but the bullpen crumbled to dust on Thursday as the Redbirds ran away with this one.
Sammons gave up a pair of runs in the top of the second, but otherwise kept things clean over five innings of work.
In the bottom of the second, Corey Julks drew a two-out walk and scored on a triple to right field from Cal Stevenson. Max Burt walked, and Luke Ritter singled in Stevenson. Tyler Gentry followed with a single of his own, but Burt was cut down at the plate to make it a 2-2
game.
That’s where things stood until the bottom of the sixth, when Gage Workman struck out but reached on a wild pitch. He stole second, and Corey Julks brought him in with a single to make it 3-2.
So things were looking good, and Eric Silva had spun a clean sixth to start his outing. However, in the seventh he was mauled for four runs and Tyler Mattison had to take over, giving up two more runs of his own. Things didn’t improve for Mattison in the eighth as he surrendered three more runs, and this one was all over.
Workman singled in the eighth and Eduardo Valencia followed with a single of his own. A double play ball from Corey Julks got Workman in from third for the Hens final run.
Workman: 2-4, 2 R, K, SB
Gentry: 2-4, K, SB
Sammons: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday night in Toledo.
Erie SeaWolves 4, Harrisburg Senators 2 (box)
Sean Hunley got the start in this one, and got the SeaWolves off on the right foot. He surrendered a run in the bottom of the second, but otherwise blanked the Senators into the fourth inning.
Peyton Graham opened the scoring with a solo shot in the top of the second. That was his first long ball of the season. In the fourth, he did it again, cranking another solo shot to left field.
So it was 2-1 SeaWolves, and E.J. Exposito cracked a solo shot of his own in the top of the seventh.
John Stankiewicz took over from Hunley successfully, and Moises Rodriguez handled the sixth, but then allowed a run in the seventh that made it 3-2 SeaWolves. In the eighth, Chris Meyers walked, and Izaac Pacheco smoked a triple to right field to score him.
Wandisson Charles closed out the final two frames. He allowed two hits, but no walks, and struck out three to collect the save
Graham currently has his on-base percentage over .420 and is doing a decent job keeping the strikeouts in check while walking a ton. He needs the power to start showing up at the Double-A level so this was a nice game for him. More is required.
Graham: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, K
Callahan: 3-5, K
Pacheco: 2-4, RBI, 3B
Hunley: 3.1 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves winning streak stands at eight games heading into Friday night’s 7:00 p.m. ET first pitch in Harrisburg.
Dayton Dragons 8, West Michigan Whitecaps 5 (box)
While the SeaWolves are winning, the Whitecaps funk has turned into an 11-game losing streak as Dayton made it three in a row in this series. Once again, the bullpen was the problem as the Dragons pulled away late.
Garrett Pennington put the Whitecaps on the board first with a monster solo shot over the batter’s eye in center field in the bottom of the first inning.
Lucas Elissalt gave up a solo shot to Alfredo Alcantara in the top of the second which tied the game. The right-hander then allowed a three-run shot to Ariel Almonte in the fourth.
So it was 4-1 Dragons, but the Whitecaps fought back in the bottom of the fourth. Pennington and Bryce Rainer drew one-out walks to set them up. Clayton Campbell singled to right, loading the bases, and Andrew Sojka drove in two runs with a single to left. Junior Tilien struck out, but Juan Hernandez walked on a close pitch to load the bases, and Dragons manager Julio Morillo didn’t like it and was tossed after some chirping. The Dragons went to their bullpen, and Caleb Shpur singled in Campbell and Hernandez to make it 5-4 Whitecaps.
Unfortunately, Zack Lee allowed a run in the fifth, and then two more in the sixth. Ethan Sloan took over and allowed one of his own. The offense went cold the rest of the way, and that was that.
Pennington: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB
Sojka: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Elissalt: 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps will try to break the streak at 6:35 p.m. ET on Friday.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, St. Lucie Mets 1 (box)
Malachi Witherspoon was absolutely electric in front of the home crowd in this one as the Flying Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the series.
The young right-hander punched out 10 Mets on Thursday. He allowed a run in the first, but only one hit and a walk through the rest of his five innings of work. He pumped 52 of 72 pitches for strikes and racked up 22 whiffs. Just as importantly, he really only threw a small batch of non competitive pitches the whole outing. There was no question about Witherspoon’s stuff coming out of college. His changeup hasn’t really been much of a weapon so far, but the fourseam and the slider are regularly plus pitches, and his curveball an average one. He’s been up to 99 mph this spring already. If he can stay in control like this consistently, he’s going to move very quickly.
Zach MacDonald quickly got that run back with a solo blast, his ninth homer of the year, to lead off the bottom of the first. Two batters later, second baseman Jack Goodman followed suit with a shot to center field for a 2-1 lead.
Pedro Garcia took over from Witherspoon in the sixth and fired three scoreless frames. In the bottom of the sixth, Beau Ankeney was hit by a pitch and Carson Rucker walked. A wild pitch advanced the runners 90 feet, and Javier Osorio came through with two-run single for a little insurance.
Jatnk Diaz collected his first save in the ninth.
MacDonald: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, HR
Goodman: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, 2 K
Witherspoon (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 10 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Friday.
FCL Blue Jays 3, FCL Tigers 2 (box)
Enderson Delgado: 2-4, 2B
Maikol Orozco: 1-4, R, K
Ronald Ramirez: 1-3, BB, K
Jack Bushnell: 2.2 IP, R, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K
