Toledo Mud Hens 9, Iowa Cubs 2 (box)
The Hens got another brilliant outing from Andrew Sears and added to a big lead all the way through this one.
Things did not start off so well. Brant Hurter was sitting 89-90 mph and couldn’t get out of the first inning, as he gave up a run and needed Nick Sandlin to clean up the inning.
Lefty Andrew Sears took over in the second and no-hit the Cubs for five innings, striking out seven against two walks. That’s a bit fitting, as Sears looks ready for a call-up to something like Hurter’s role with the Tigers.
Sears got a whopping 16 whiffs in this one, 10 off his mid-90’s sinker, and racked up some whiffs with his high-80’s changeup as well. Sears typically has a good sinker-slider combo, so seeing growth from the changeup is excellent news. He might make a candidate for the rotation in 2027 as well and if the Tigers lose anyone else, Sears is probably the first number you’re going to call.
As Sears silenced the Cubs, the Hens offense started clicking. Chris Meyers was promoted out of his rehab assignment up to Toledo for this one, and he doubled in his first at-bat. Andrew Navigato singled him to third and then stole second base. Bennett Lee stepped to the dish after Cal Stevenson struck out, and crushed a three-run shot for his first Triple-A homer.
In the bottom of the third, Max Anderson singled and Josue Briceño walked. Meyers singled in Anderson, and Navigato doubled in Briceño for a 5-1 lead.
Right-hander Hayden Minton, who we had ranked 33rd in the system prior to the season, has started to find the mid-90’s velocity we were hoping for on his low arm slot, running sinker, to pair with his solid curveball and cutter. The Tigers promoted him to Triple-A on Tuesday, moving him to a relief role, at least for now, and this is the way. They’ll need a lot more of this to start building good homegrown bullpens rather than paying through the nose for veteran relievers. Minton doesn’t really profile as the guy, but now that he can focus on short outings, we’ll see if they can squeeze a bit more out of the stuff.
Things were quiet through the middle innings until Max Burt led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot. Tyler Mattison surrendered a run in the top of the eighth, but in the bottom half the Hens poured it on.
Justice Bigbie led off with a walk and moved to second on a groundout from Meyers. Navigato singled and Stevenson walked to load the bases. Lee was plunked to force in a run, and Jace Jung followed with a two-run double to make it 9-2.
Beau Brieske struck out two in the top of the ninth sitting 95-97 with his heater.
Navigato: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, SB
Meyers: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B
Briceno: 0-3, R, BB
Sears (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6, Erie SeaWolves 5 (F/11)(box)
Zyhir Hope had a huge game, but after tying this one up in the ninth and again in the bottom of the tenth, the SeaWolves couldn’t get it done in the 11th.
Hope doubled in the bottom of the first but was stranded.
Joe Miller got into some trouble in the top of the second, and a passed ball charged to Thayron Liranzo scored the game’s first run. The SeaWolves threatened in the second but failed to score. Finally in the bottom of the third, Woody Hadeen walked and rode home on a blast to right field from Hope. 2-1 SeaWolves.
Unfortunately, Miller crumbled in the top of the fourth, allowing three runs. So it was 4-2 Fisher Cats until the bottom of the eighth. Hope led off with a single and took third on a Liranzo single. He then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3. Andrew Jenkins walked, but Izaac Pacheco struck out.
Tanner Kohlhepp took over in the top of the ninth and kept the Fisher Cats off the board despite a pair of singles. In the bottom half, Seth Stephenson was hit by a pitch and stole second as Hadeen struck out. Peyton Graham was snakebit in this one, and for the second time hammered a ball right to an outfielder in this one. Hope sprang eternal as he singled in Stephenson to tie the game and send it to extras.
Kohlhepp allowed the runner on second to score in the top of the 10th, but no more. In the bottom half, Jenkins singled in Liranzo from second to tie things up, and then stole second base. With three chances for a game winning knock, the SeaWolves went in order, and that was kind of the ballgame.
Yosber Sanchez gave up a run in the top of the 11th, and Stephenson, Hadeen and Graham all made outs to end it.
Hope: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR, K
Jenkins: 1-4, RBI, BB, SB
Exposito: 2-5, 2B, K
Miller: 4.2 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m ET start on Wednesday. The SeaWolves still hold a 4.5 game lead in the Southwest division with a 31-15 second half record.
South Bend Cubs 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (box)
A two-run shot late in Rayner Castillo’s outing spoiled it, but it mattered little as the Whitecaps got one-hit in this one.
The Whitecaps had trouble with starter Jostin Florentino, and their only hit came with one out in the first, and it was another monster shot to straightaway center field off the bat of Bryce Rainer. The talented shortstop has now homered in four straight contests, tying a Whitecaps record, according to Dan Hasty.
Castillo allowed a solo home run in the bottom of the second, but otherwise he was cruising, racking up a whopping nine strikeouts on the outing, a personal best. Unfortunately, they stretched things a bit too far, and the 22-year-old right-hander gave up a leadoff walk in the sixth, struck out the next hitter, and then surrendered a two-run shot to Josiah Hartshorn which kind of spoiled Castillo’s night. Still, we’ve been looking for him to get that easy 94-95 t97 mph sinker back and improve his breaking stuff and things are coming around after a rough season for him.
Preston Howey gave up a pair of runs in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Rainer: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 2 K
Ankeney: 0-2, 2 BB
Castillo (L, 2-9): 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps second half lead in the East division is just one game over Great Lakes. They’ll get back at it with a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 10, St. Lucie Mets 1 (box)
The Flying Tigers athletic young squad played excellent defense and pounded out 14 hits in this one while drawing eight walks to crush St. Lucie.
Caleb Leys got the start, and while he still isn’t missing many bats, he was effective for 3.2 innings of one-run ball. By then the Flygers were working with a nice lead.
Jude Warwick led off the top of the second with a walk and took second on a wild pitch. Maddox Molony lined an RBI single to center for a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Angel De Los Santos dumped a pop-up in for a speed double with one out. Nick Dumesnil struck out, but Jesus Pinto singled in the run. In the fourth, Anibal Salas singled with one out, and Brady Ballinger doubled him to third. Ballinger and Molony did a nice job repping the 2026 draft class in this one. Jordan Yost grounded one to second and then cut down Salas at the plate, but Yost stole second and Ballinger scored as the throw was wide of second base.
So it was 3-0 at that point. Leys allowed a run in the top of the fourth, but in the bottom half the Flying Tigers kept pouring it on. Dumesnil led off with a single and Pinto challenged a strike call correctly and walked. Warwick grounded out but advanced both runners. Molony then fought off a pitch into right field for a two-run single. 5-1.
Dumesnil challenged a strike call correctly in the top of the seventh and led off with a walk. He promptly swiped second and scored on a Pinto single. Pinto took second on a wild pitch and Warwick and Molony walked to load the bases. Salas struck out, but Ballinger walked to force in a run and Yost lifted a sac fly to make it 8-1. Michael Oliveto singled in Molony, and De Los Santos lined a single to left to make it 10-1.
Leonardo Rossell and Bryce Alewine were both a little wild in relief but gave the Flygers two scoreless apiece.
De Los Santos: 3-6, R, RBI, 2B, K
PInto: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Molony: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB
Ballinger: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB
Oliveto: 2-4, RBI, 2BB
Leys: 3.2 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:10 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.
