It’s doubleheader day on the farm for Detroit’s affiliates thanks to rain, smoke and flying pigs squirrels. Toledo, West Michigan and the Complex League club all played two today, so dig in and let’s get through it together.
(F/7) Gwinnett Stripers 5, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)
The Mud Hens scored two total runs and lost both games of their doubleheader, but the first one went slightly better, with Toledo notching seven hits and holding Gwinnett to five runs.
A 5-1 loss isn’t anything to cheer about, but let’s consider that the Stripers had Ronald Acuña
Jr., Ha-Seong Kim and Carlos Santana at the top of the order, all on rehab assignments. Ty Madden got the start and navigated his way through the order once. He got Acuna and Kim the second time around, but Enmanuel De Jesus took over in the third to face Santana.
De Jesus gave up a single to Santana, and then Brett Wisely took him deep to center field. Sigh.
Up to this point, Toledo only had one hit, a Tyler Gentry double in the second that ended up with him on third after a wild pitch. Max Clark delivered the second hit of the day in the third, another double, but Max Anderson and Gage Workman failed to bring him around.
De Jesus almost got through the fourth, but a double from Kim brought Scott Effross to the mound for Santana, who flied out to Clark in center. The Hens went 1-2-3 in the fourth, and Effross gave up a two-run homer to Patrick Clohisy in the top of the fifth.
Toledo finally put together multiple hits in an inning with Cal Stevenson and Bennett Lee both getting base knocks in the bottom of the fifth. Clark walked to load the bases, but Anderson and Workman came up short again — both striking out this time.
Luke Taggart got the sixth for the Mud Hens and gave up a homer to Carlos Santana. Trei Cruz had a lonely two-out double in the bottom half, which ended up with him stranded.
Taggart went 1-2-3 in the seventh. Stevenson, Lee and Clark went single-walk-single to load the bases again, this time with no outs, and Anderson at least got one run in with a sac fly. Workman grounded out and Corey Julks hit one back to the pitcher to end the rally and the game.
Not the best day for these guys with men on base. Toledo finished the game 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.
Clark: 2-3, 2B (19), BB
Anderson: 0-2, RBI, BB, 2K
Stevenson: 2-3, R
(F/7) Gwinnett Stripers 8, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)
Game Two did not go any better. Toledo only had three hits, without Clark in the lineup, and gave up eight runs despite Acuna and Santana taking this one off.
Again, the lone Mud Hens run of the day came in the seventh, as did two of the team’s three hits. Cruz singled and scored on a Stevenson double. The other was an Andrew Navigato single in the third.
Dylan File just had to tank things for five innings on the mound. No home runs, but Gwinnett got the leadoff man against File in every inning but the second. Funny enough, the second inning was the bad one. File hit the leadoff man, gave up a single and then back-to-back doubles brought three runs across.
File loaded the bases in the fifth with no outs, but it ended up being a one-run inning thanks to a triple play. Toledo was happy enough to trade a run for a double play, but the runner on second inexplicably took off for home and was tagged out easily. So, that’s fun?
Somehow, the sixth was worse than the second for Toledo. Ricky Vanasco walked the leadoff man and got an out before allowing three straight hits to make it 7-0. Jack Little replaced Vanasco after recording the second out, but he gave up an RBI single for the eighth run.
Just a bad day to be a Mud Hen, unless you’re Cal Stevenson.
Anderson: 0-3, K
Stevenson: 1-3, 2B (4), RBI, 2 K
File (L, 5-6): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: Toledo and Gwinnett wrap up the series on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
(F/10) Richmond Flying Squirrels 7, Erie SeaWolves 6 (box)
No doubleheader for Erie, but the SeaWolves and Richmond Flying Squirrels did need extra innings to decide this one. Erie ended up losing 7-6 in walk-off fashion, but at least it was a battle (unlike both of Toledo’s losses).
Erie got out in front early, scoring a run in the second and third innings. E.J. Exposito hit his 16th home run of the year in the second, and Peyton Graham drove in Patrick Lee with a sac fly in the third. Lee manufactured that run with his baserunning. He walked to open the inning and stole second and third base. Seth Stephenson also walked and stole second (No. 42 on the year).
Things stayed pretty quiet until the sixth, which is conveniently when both bullpens took over. Props to Hayden Minton for holding Richmond scoreless for five frames and allowing just four hits.
Erie made it a 3-0 game in the sixth, scoring a run on a fielder’s choice, but Johan Simon gave all three runs back in the bottom half of the inning. It’s not all on Simon. He had to work around a leadoff error, but any inning with four hits and two extra-base hits is a bad one.
Tyler Owens got the final out of the sixth and pitched through the seventh, but not before giving up the lead on a sac fly.
Justice Bigbie tied things back up in the eighth with an RBI single. Graham scored after stealing his 50th base of the season.
Tanner Kohlhepp took over in the eighth, and back and forth we go. Back-to-back singles around a wild pitch gave Richmond the lead back, and a two-out double made it 6-4.
Erie still fought, though, tying it again in the ninth. Lee singled, stole second and came across on a Stephenson base hit. Graham came up big again, driving in the tying run with a double.
Wandisson Charles went 1-2-3 in the ninth, and to extra innings we go! Bigbie started on second and moved to third on a ground out, but the SeaWolves still went down 1-2-3, setting up the walkoff opportunity.
Charles got the first two outs just fine, but Richmond only needed one base hit to win. Diego Velasquez delivered, and that’s that.
Graham: 3-4, 2B (13), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (50)
Lee: 1-3, 2R, BB, K, 3 SB (6)
Exposito: 1-4, HR (16), R, RBI, BB, K
Minton: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: Erie and Richmond duke it out to determine the series at 5:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. Jackson Jobe is on the mound.
(F/8) Great Lakes Loons 3, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box)
Game One of the shortened three-game series out of the All-Star Break… was delayed again. This time, the West Michigan Whitecaps and Great Lakes Loons had to wait 30 minutes past the scheduled start time of their doubleheader.
Charlie Christensen (Whitecaps) and Zach Root (Loons) battled it out on the mound, both allowing two runs. Christensen had better command, striking out six and walking none, while Root worked around four walks and four hits with five strikeouts. Christensen also had the edge in hits allowed with just two, but they were both solo home runs.
Both of West Michigan’s runs off Root came in the fourth inning. Stephen Hrustich walked, and Andrew Sojka moved him to third on a single to right field. Juan Hernandez hit one back to Root, which ricocheted off his glove, making the only play to first and allowing the run to score. The other came in unearned on a bad throw to first base that should have been the third out.
Root got through the fifth, but Christensen only went four. Ethan Sloan was first out of the bullpen for the Whitecaps. He worked around a single after the offense tied things up, and Carlos Lequerica did the same in the sixth. Sloan actually started the sixth, but he hit a batter and got pulled before anything got out of hand.
Colin Fields held the 2-2 tie in the seventh, and Jackson Strong couldn’t score in the eighth to put West Michigan ahead. Strong had an odd collision with the umpire while running toward home on a foul ball. He got checked out by the training staff after showing some obvious discomfort in his left foot/ankle, but he stayed in the game.
The game ended in one of the worst ways possible. Thomas Bruss spiked the 10th pitch of an at-bat to allow the winning run to cross. Hopefully, he was allowed to stay in the clubhouse for the second game…
Rainer: 1-3, BB, K
Sojka: 2-4, R, K
Christensen: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
(F/7) West Michigan Whitecaps 11, Great Lakes Loons 2 (box)
This one went much better for the Whitecaps, but it looked like another 2-2 deadlock for a bit. Eventually, West Michigan’s offense exploded for nine runs between the fifth and sixth innings for a comfortable 11-2 win.
Cristian Santana got the scoring started in the second, blasting a two-run homer and putting West Michigan out front.
Meanwhile, Carlos Marcano cruised through his first two innings of work on the mound, striking out three of the first four batters he faced. The third inning brought problems, though. A leadoff triple and sac fly made it a one-run game, and Marcano hit the next batter to put the tying run on base. A double and another sac fly brought him in. Here we go again…
Things got a little hairy again in the fourth. Marcano walked a batter and gave up a two-out single, prompting Logan Berrier to come out of the bullpen. Berrier got the strikeout to escape the inning unharmed. Then, the dam burst.
Hernandez walked and moved to second on a bad pickoff attempt. Woody Hadeen lined one to center to give West Michigan the lead back. Samuel Gil tripled Hadeen in, Clayton Campbell walked and Sojka brought Gil home on a sac fly. 5-2, Whitecaps.
Santana opened the sixth with his second homer of the day, a solo shot.
Hernandez walked again, and then Caleb Shpur joined the party withhis first bomb.
Stephen Hrustich just missed a homer with two men on, hitting the top of the wall for a two-run double. Finally, Enderson Delgado recorded his first double with the Whitecaps to bring Hrustich home and the score to 11-2.
Luke Stofel finished the game on the mound. He allowed three hits and walked a batter, but managed to hold the Loons scoreless for two innings.
Gil: 3-4, 3B (2), 2 R, RBI, BB, K
Santana: 2-3, 2 HR (6), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K
Marcano: 3.2 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: West Michigan and Great Lakes finish the series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 3 (box)
Malachi Witherspoon got the start for Lakeland. He continues to be hittable, but the stuff is good. Despite allowing three runs over four innings from Witherspoon, the offense and bullpen did enough to pull out a comfortable 7-3 win over the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
Witherspoon got into trouble right away, allowing back-to-back singles before recording an out. A double brought both runners home, but he bounced back with a 1-2-3 second.
Gleyber Torres gave the Flying Tigers the lead with a three-run, opposite-field shot in the third. The wind helped it, but he still got good wood on it.
Witherspoon couldn’t hold the lead, though. A leadoff single and double led to a game-tying sac fly, but at least he held Fort Myers there.
Jesus Pinto responded in the fourth with a two-run homer. This one didn’t need the wind — 101.2 mph exit velo, 23-degree launch angle, 400 feet.
Witherspoon hit a batter in the fourth, but he retired the other three without any issues, ending his outing with a strikeout.
Marco Jimenez replaced him in the fifth and worked around a one-out single. Antonio Florido went 1-2-3 in the sixth.
Carson Rucker gave Lakeland an insurance run with a leadoff solo bomb in the seventh — another barrel at 101.6 mph and 28 degrees
Yendy Gomez got the next two innings on the mound. He had to deal with a walk and a base hit in the seventh, and an error extended an otherwise sharp eighth inning.
Rucker hit another home run in the ninth for good measure. All of Lakeland’s runs came on homers today. Luke Hoskins closed things out in the ninth.
Torres: 1-3, HR (1), R, 3 RBI
Yost: 0-3, R, 2 BB, K
Rucker: 3-4, 2 HR (9), 2 R, 2 RBI, K
Pinto: 2-4, HR (5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K
Witherspoon: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: Lakeland and Fort Myers finish the series Sunday at 12:05 p.m. ET.
FCL Yankees 10, FCL Tigers 6 (box)
This one picked up from yesterday after the weather suspended the contest.
Here’s what Brandon wrote yesterday before the stoppage:
One great sign was that right-hander Kelvis Salcedo, who possesses arguably the best stuff in the whole system, threw an inning, beginning a rehab assignment. We’d had no word on his injury, but fortunately it appears he’ll only miss the last few weeks. He threw a perfect inning, striking out the side in the first.
Joey Wimpelberg gave up two in a short outing, and Ryan Hall two more in the fourth, but he did strike out four in two innings of work.
Michael Oliveto and Santiago Pinto each had a double in this one so far, while Cristian Perez continued his FCL reign of terror with two more knocks.
Picking things back up in the fifth, Maddox Long took the mound for the Tigers. He went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts in his first inning of work, but the sixth was a complete disaster… The sequence went home run-double-walk-home run-home run before Leonardo Rossell took over. Rookie ball is so weird…
Rossell mostly did his job, allowing another run to cross on a two-out double and single. By that time, it was 10-5 and pretty much out of reach, barring a miracle. Guillermo Batista drove in one for the Tigers, but that’s all they got
Oliveto: 1-4, 2B (3), R, RBI, K
Rodriguez: 0-2, R, BB
Perez: 2-2, R, RBI
Salcedo: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
FCL Yankees 6, FCL Tigers 2 (box)
Our regularly scheduled contests didn’t go much better. The Yankees led from start to finish, plating three in the first and answering the Tigers’ two-run response with their own two-spot in the second.
Zach Swanson (2024, Round 9) got the start but didn’t make it out of the first. He allowed three hits to the first four batters he faced and saw three bags swiped against him. A fielder’s choice went wrong and allowed a third run to score, and that was it for Swanson. Yoan Valdez struck out a pair after taking over for him.
Michael Oliveto (2025, Round CB-A) hit his first professional home run to make it 3-2, but those were the only runs scored by the Tigers.
Owen Hall took over in the second inning. It didn’t go well. A leadoff error and back-to-back singles made it 4-2 and set up a double steal with men on the corners, which brought another home.
Hall was better in the third, facing the minimum thanks to Oliveto catching the runner stealing. He worked around a leadoff double in the fourth and somehow got through the fifth unscathed, despite hitting the first two batters. Again, Oliveto bailed him out, picking off the runner at second. Hall did strike out six batters, though, so it’s not all bad.
Johnathan Rogers had the sixth. He hit the leadoff man and gave up an insurance run on a double right after. Leonardo Leon worked around a pair of walks in the seventh before the game finished.
Coming Up Next: The FCL Tigers are back at it on Monday at noon ET against the FCL Blue Jays. Both DSL Tigers clubs also play at 11 a.m. ET.
